I.IBRAHY 

PRIl«CETO]¥,  W.  J. 

DONATION  OV 

SAMUEL  ACiNKW, 


Letter 


ru/e'sfnctification 


ENTIRE 


SANCTIFICATION; 


OR, 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION, 


STATED  AfJD  DEFENDED  BY 


Rev.  J.  WESLEY,  !         Rev.  Dr.  A.  CLARKE, 

"    A.  WATMOUGH,         |  "    R.  WATSON, 

Rev.  R.  TREFFRY. 


BALTIMORE: 

ARMSTRONG  &  BERRY. 

WOODS,  PRINT. 

1  838  . 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  subject  of  this  book,  is  one  of  vital  importance,  one  which 
all  the  orthodox  Protestant  denominations  profess  to  believe;  is  a 
part  of  their  creed;  the  constant  theme  of  their  public  and  private 
ministrations,  and  the  object  of  their  unceasing  supplications  and 
prayers.  Holiness  of  heart,  is  believed  by  all,  to  be  the  privilege 
of  every  follower  of  a  crucified  Saviour.  "Without  holiness,  no 
man  shall  seethe  Lord,"  is  on  the  banner  of  Methodists,  Presby- 
terians, Episcopalians,  Baptists,  &c.  While  this  assumption  is 
freely  made,  there  is  no  reason,  why  the  whole  truth  should 
not  be  told.  These  denominations  harmoniously  agreeing  in  the 
imperative  obligation  upon  all  to  possess  it,  as  an  indispensable 
qualification  to  an  entrance  into  heaven;  do  not  all  agree  as  to 
the  time  when  the  work  of  entire  holiness  is  to  be  accomplished. 

The  Methodists,  as  a  body,  profess  to  believe  and  distinctly 
teach,  that  it  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of  every  child  of  God,  to 
seek  for,  to  obtain,  and  to  live  in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of, 
entire  sanctification,  as  expressed  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  me- 
morable prayer  for  his  Ephesian  brethren,  who  were  then  believ- 
ers in  Christ,  and  whom  he  had  previously  addressed  as  saints. 
"I  bow'  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named,  that 
he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory,  to  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man;  that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye,  being  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love,  maybe  able  to  comprehend,  with  all  saints, 
what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height;  and  to 
know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye 
might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God.  Now  unto  him  that  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think, 
according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be  glory 
in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without 
end.  Amen." 

To  present  a  clear  and  various  view  by  dilferent  writers  of  the 
evidences  upon  which  the  IMethodists  found  their  belief  in  the 
possibility  ol  obtaining  Christian  perfection,  or  entire  sanctifica- 
tion, in  this  life;  in  the  language  of  one  of  their  own  hymns, 

"To  live  wtien  sin  is  all  destroyed." 
was  the  principal  motive  for  putting  this  work  into  its  present 
form.    It  is  the  compiler's  sincere  and  deliberate  opinion,  that 
the  dissenters  from,  and  opposers  of  the  doctrine,  have  not  im- 


IV 


INTRODUCTION. 


partially,  and  with  minds  opened  to  conviction,  examined  the 
views  of  Methodist  writers;  in  consequence,  have  formed  vague 
or  erroneous  opinions;  from  this  cause  prejudice  against  their 
brethren  have  grown  up  in  their  minds,  and  against  a  doctrine 
fully  believed  by  thousands  of  fellow  Christians;  believed  upon 
scripture  warrant,  and  with  the  concurrent  testimony  of  numbers, 
who  have  most  blessedly  realized  in  their  own  (to  them)  undoubted 
heartfelt  expei  ience  through  days,  and  months,  and  years,  that  the 
"blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanses  from  all  unrighteousness," 
having  been  made  holy  in  life,  and  "witnessed"  before  thousands 
"a  good  confession,"  have  gloriously  triumphed  in  death.  If  it 
be  true,  why  should  not  Christians  of  every  name,  be  ready  to 
examine  with  care  and  with  impartiality,  the  arguments  and 
proofs  furnished  iu  its  support?  If  it  be  true,  is  it  not  a  most 
invaluable  privilege  to  know  that  it  is  so?  Is  there  one  among 
all  the  members  of  the  family  of  the  Redeemer,  on  earth,  who 
would  not  be  willing  to  receive  it  as  truth?  If  true,  is  there  one  who 
would  not  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  to  be  admitted  into  a  state 
of  grace,  that  would  enable  him  to  cry  out  continually  with  the 
Psalmist:  "My  heai-t  is  fixed,  O  God,  my  heart  is  fixed  "  Find- 
ing it  no  longer  necessary  to  hang  his  "harp  on  the  willows;" 
no  longer  to  idopt  the  language  of  the  poet,  as  the  expression  of 
his  daily  expei  ience: 

"\n\y  I  ippent.  and  sill  agiiin, 

Sliiiii  with  the  same  unliappy  dart, 
Wliicli  <J  so  often  wounds  my  hi-arl;" 

he  is  cleansed  from  all  sin;  saved  from  all  inbred  corrup- 
tions; not  that  he  may  not  sin,  but  that  he  can  possess  what 
the  apostle  Paul  desired  most  ardently  for  the  Thessalonian  Chris- 
tians. "And  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly;  and  I 
pray  God  your  whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body,  be  preserved 
blameless  unto  the  coining  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  And  he 
adds,  "Faithful  is  He  that  calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it.  What 
is  there  in  the  condition  of  a  professor  of  religion,  who  doubts  the 
possibility  of  his  being  sanctified  wholly,  before  the  moment  of 
departure  from  this  life,  that  makes  it  desirable;  why  then  contend 
so  vehemently  for  it,  is  not  the  opposite  condition  much  to  be 
preferred;  why  misunderstand  those  who  believe  that  they  have 
found  the  "king's  high  way  of  holiness,"  who  dare  not  hide 
their  glorious  discovery  and  be  guiltless?  "The  love  of  Christ" 
constraining  them  to  declare  "we  speak  that  we  do  know,  and 
testify  that  we  have  seen,  and  ye  receive  not  our  witness." 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/entiresanctificaOOwesi 

i 


CONTENTS. 


page 

Entire  Sanctification,  by  Rev.  A.  Watmough,  ...  6 
Entire  Sanctification,  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  .  .  .  125 
Christian  Perfection,  by  Rev.  J.  Wesley,  .  163 
Entire  Sanctification,  by  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  .  191 

Christian  Perfection,  by  Rev.  R.  Treffry,  .  .205 


AN  ESSAY 


ON    ENTIRE    S  ANCTIFIC  ATION, 


By  Rev.  A.  WATMOUGH. 


AN 


ESSAY   ON  SANCTIFICATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRKLIMINARY  OBSEEVATIOXS. 

There  is  a  certain  order  observable  in  all  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Almighty.  We  can  perceive  it  in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  which  rose,  under  the  forming  hand  of 
the  Deity,  from  one  condition  to  another,  till  at  length, 
after  the  labor  of  six  successive  days,  it  was  finished,  and 
God  pronounced  it  very  good.  It  is  visible  also  in  the 
opening  flower,  the  ripening  corn,  the  formation  of  am. 
mals,  and  in  the  growth  of  the  human  species  from  child- 
hood to  man.  VVe  can  often  perceive  the  same  thmg  in 
providence,  particularly  in  those  great  events  which  an- 
ciently had  a  connexion  with  the  church,  where  one  se- 
ries of  occurrences  makes  way  for  another  series  more 
bright  than  the  former,  and  the  second  for  a  third  more 
glorious  still,  till  at  length  the  divine  purposes  are  fully 
accomplished,  and  the  day  of  Gospel  glory,  unsullied  by 
a  speck  of  darkness,  is  seen  opening  on  the  world. 
2 


6 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


The  same  kind  of  order  is  observable  in  the  opera- 
tions of  grace.  A  measure  of  light  is  first  given,  shin- 
ing dimly  in  the  soul.  This  light,  when  improved  by 
us,  leads  to  repentance;  repentance,  to  faith  in  Christ; 
faith,  to  justification,  adoption,  and  regeneration.  Re- 
generation is  the  beginning  of  that  great  change  called 
sanctification,  and  is,  in  itself,  a  part  of  that  work,  and 
differs  from  entire  sanctification  in  no  other  way  than  as  a 
part  must  always  diflfer  from  the  whole,  or  as  a  work  just 
begun  must  necessarily  differ  from  the  same  work  when 
brought  to  perfection. 

From  these  remarks  it  will  follow,  that  as  the  perfec- 
tion of  sanctification  must  succeed  its  commencement,  or 
regeneration,  it  must  succeed  adoption  and  justification 
also,  so  that  to  seek  it  before  these,  or  before  we  are  as- 
sured that  God  has  done  these  things  for  us,  is  like  at- 
tempting to  finish  the  fabric  before  the  foundation  is  laid. 

It  is  of  infinite  importance  that  this  order  of  the  divine 
operation  in  our  hearts  should  be  clearly  perceived,  as  un- 
speakable evil  and  disappointment  must  arise  from  false 
and  erroneous  views  concerning  it.  For  if  God  has  es- 
tablished this  order  in  tiie  work  of  saving  man,  and  we 
should  seek  his  salvation  in  another  order;  if  we  should 
seek  to  be  sanctified  wholly,  or  to  be  born  again  of  the 
Spirit,  before  we  are  justified,  and  adopted,  the  fruit  of 
all  our  labor  and  toil,  though  we  should  sow  it  with 
tears,  will  end  in  an  harvest  of  disappointment  and  grief. 
For  who  can  reverse  the  established  order  of  the  Heity? 
or  who  can  succeed,  in  his  noblest  efforts  to  please  him, 
unless  those  efforts  be  conducted  according  to  his  will? 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


7 


"He  is  of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him?"  Beside,  llie 
plans  of  the  Deity  must  all  be  the  result  of  infinite  wisdom, 
and  therefore  the  best  that  can  possibly  be  contrived,  not 
only  as  to  their  final  consequences  and  end,  but  as  to  the  man- 
ner and  order  of  their  execution  also.  So  that  to  suppose 
he  could  reverse  his  own  order  of  operation  in  man,  and 
renew  and  save  him  in  some  other  way,  is  to  suppose  he 
can  be  governed  in  his  proceeditigs  by  ignorance  and  fol- 
ly, in  preference  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  infinite  mind, 
— a  supposition  which  nothing  but  vice  can  for  a  moment 
entertain. 

And  hence  will  appear  the  necessity  of  care,  that  those 
wiio  are  beginning  to  servo  God  may  be  right.  Repent- 
ance, faith,  and  pardon — these  are  the  beginning  of  relig- 
ion in  man;  these  are  the  foundation  stones  on  which  the 
fabric  of  piety  must  rest;  and  resting  upon  these,  as  these 
themselves  do  upon  Christ,  the  primary  and  only  proper 
or  meritorious  cause  of  every  thing  good,  the  building 
will  rise  fair  and  in  due  proportion;  we  shall  become  tem- 
ples of  the  Holy  Ghost;  for  God  himself  will  condescend 
to  dwell  in  us,  and  we  shall  be  his  people,  and  he  will  be 
our  God. 

It  will  therefore  be  supposed,  all  along  in  this  essay, 
that  those  who  are  seeking  entire  sanctification  are  al- 
ready justified  by  faith,  and  have  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
that  they  are  born  of  God.  In  these  the  work  of  sancti- 
fication is  begun,  as  observed  above.  And  to  unfold  the 
nature  of  that  work  more  fully,  and  the  way  and  man- 
ner and  means  by  which  it  is  fully  accomplished,  will  be 
the  end  at  which  we  shall  aim  through  the  whole  of  this 
work. 


8 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAT  ON 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE  PRIKCII'AL  TERMS  USED  IN  THIf  WORK. 

The  principal  terms  which  will  occur  in  this  work  will 
be  the  terms  sanctify,  sanctification,  and  the  like;  and  as 
it  will  open  our  way,  and  render  the  discussion  of  this 
subject  much  more  agreeable,  we  will  endeavor  to  state 
and  illustrate  their  meaning  before  we  proceed. 

On  a  careful  perusal  of  the  Bible,  we  shall  find  they 
are  not  used,  in  every  case  of  their  occurrence,  in  exact- 
ly the  same  sense,  or  with  the  same  latitude  or  degree  of 
meaning,  but  sometimes  comprehend  more,  sometimes 
less;  sometimes  signifying  the  removal  of  all  sin  and  pol- 
lution of  every  kind  from  the  person  or  thing  said  to  be 
sanctified,  sometimes  the  removal  of  a  part  of  it  only,  and 
not  the  whole;  while,  on  some  other  occasions,  they  con- 
vey no  idea  to  the  mind  whatsoever  of  the  removal  of 
any  kind  or  degree  of  impurity  from  the  subject  said  to 
be  sanctified,  but  simply  a  dedication  or  employment  of 
that  person  or  thing  to  the  sole  or  exclusive  service  and 
glory  of  God.  A  few  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  one 
or  other  of  the  terms  in  question  occurs  may  now  be  in- 
troduced, to  illustrate  the  principles  we  have  just  laid 
down. 

And  first,  we  may  notice  Genesis  ii.  3.  where  the  term 
"sanctified"  occurs  the  first  time  we  meet  with  it  in  the 


EiNTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


9 


Bible.  Its  meaning  in  tiiis  passage  is  limited.  It  con- 
veys to  the  mind  no  idea  of  purilication;  for  the  sabbath 
had  no  defilement  to  be-  purged  away.  It  simply  means 
this,  that  the  sabbath  was  to  be  dedicated  or  set  apart 
for  the  exclusive  purposes  of  religion  and  the  glory  of 
God,  who  had  thereon  rested  from  all  his  works,  and  that 
on  no  pretences  whatever  was  it  to  be  used  for  the  secu- 
lar purposes  of  this  present  life.  (See  Exod.  xx.  8 — 11; 
Isai.  Iviii.  13.)  In  the  same  sense  also  the  term  "sancti- 
fy" appears  to  be  used  where  God  is  said  to  "sanctify 
himself,"  to  "sanctify  his  great  name,''  and  the  like. — 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  23;  xxxviii.  vlt.)  For  although  the  name 
of  Jehovah  may  be  said  to  be  defiled  by  the  heathen,  and 
by  all  who  use  it  with  any  degree  of  irreverence,  yet  as 
<  this  profanation  of  the  name  of  God  produces  no  change 
in  that  name,  which  is  always  pure  and  holy  in  itself, 
however  men  use  it;  so  neither,  on  the  other  hand,  does 
its  sanctification  produce  any  change  in  that  name,  or 
make  it  more  pure  or  holy  than  it  was.  It  simply  signifies, 
that  God  would  cause  it  to  be  used  with  reverence  and 
awe  by  all  who  should  take  it  into  their  sinful  and  pollu- 
ted lips. 

I  may  just  further  observe,  that  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  speaks  of  "sanctifying  himself,"  and  of  the  Father 
"sanctifying  and  sending  him  into  the  world,"  (John  xvii. 
19;  X.  36,)  the  meaning  can  only  be,  that  the  Father  had 
set  him  apart,  and  that  he  had  consecrated  or  set  himself 
apart,  as  God-Man  or  Mediator,  for  the  accomplishment 
of  those  great  and  holy  purposes  for  which  he  was 
sent  into  the  world.  For  in  the  Savior  was  "no  sin, 
neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth;''  so  that  in  his 
2* 


10 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


sanctifiation  neither  sin  nor  guile,  of  any  kind  or  degree 
whatsoever,  could  be  purged  away.  In  all  these  cases 
llie  i)revious  condition,  or  undefilable  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject said  to  be  sanctified,  fixes  the  meaning  of  the  terms  in 
question,  and  compels  us  to  understand  them  as  stated 
above. 

But,  secondly,  when  the  thing  said  to  be  sanctified 
was  previously,  in  its  nature,  unholy  or  impure,  the  re- 
moval of  that  impurity,  in  whole  or  in  part,  must  always 
be  understood;  for  the  removal  of  that  impurity  is  part,  at 
least,  of  their  sanctification,  and  their  consequent  dedica- 
tion to  God  is  the  rest.  The  sanctification  of  the  Israel- 
ites may  be  given  as  one  illustration  of  this.  "Washing 
their  clothes,''  which  implies  the  removal  of  some  de- 
gree of  impurity,  was  one  part  of  the  process  of  their 
sanctification,  (see  Exod.  xix.  10 — 14,)  and  "sprinkling 
the  people  with  blood  and  with  water,"  (see  Exod.  xxiv. 
H;  Heb.  ix.  19,)  was  part  of  the  same  transaction,  and 
also  implies  the  removal  of  pollution.  For  St.  Paul  ex- 
pressly styles  this  sprinkling  of  the  people  a  "sprinkling 
of  the  vnclean"  and  a  sprinkling  which  sanctified,''^  the 
unclean,  to  the-  ^'■purifijing  of  the  f  eshy  (Heb.  ix.  13.) 
So  that  in  this  case,  and  others  of  the  same  nature  which 
took  place  under  the  law,  it  is  manifest  the  terms  in  ques- 
tion are  used  to  denote  the  removal  of  defilement  or  sin 
from  the  person  or  things  said  to  be  sanctified,  that  they 
might  be  consecrated  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God. 

I  find,  also,  that  the  terms  in  question  are  used  in  this 
sense  in  the  New  Testament,  when  applied  to  the  souls 
and  bodies  of  men,  as  in  the  following  words  of  St.  Paul. 


•4' 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


11 


"For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a 
heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean  sanctifieth  to  the  purifying 
of  the  flesh:  How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ — 
•purge  (sanctify)  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to 
serve  the  living  God?"  (Heb.  ix.  13,  14.)  The  remo- 
val of  sin  from  the  conscience  is  manifestly  intended  in 
this  place,  or  perhaps,  from  the  whole  soul  and  body  also, 
conscience  being  put  for  the  whole  man.  In  the  follow- 
ing passage  the  removal  of  sin  from  the  body  is  intended. 
"For  tills  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your  sanctification, 
that  ye  should  abstain  from  fornication,  &c.  (1  Thess. 
iv.  3,  4.)  And  the  same  thing  may  be  said  concerning 
the  word  sanctify  in  the  subjoined  passage,  which  un- 
doubtedly refers  both  to  the  body  and  soul.  "Christ  also 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,  that  he  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
word,"  &-C.  (Eph  v.  25,  26.)  So  that  it  appears  to  be 
beyond  all  doubt  that  the  terms  in  question,  when  applied 
to  any  person  or  thing  unholy  or  unclean,  whether  in  the 
Old  Testament  or  the  New,  signifying  the  purging  or  re- 
moval of  that  dolilement  away,  and  a  dedication  of  that 
person  or  thing  to  the  service  of  God. 

We  must  be  careful,  however,  in  the  third  place,  to 
observe,  that  these  terms  do  not  always,  when  evidently 
implying  the  removal  of  sin,  imply  the  removal  of  all  sin 
from  man;  for,  whatever  may  be  said  of  things,  such  as 
the  vessels  of  the  temple,  and  the  like,  it  is  certain  that 
man  may  be  partially  sanctified  and  not  completely  so; 
some  portion  of  his  natural  corruption,  both  of  flesh  and 
spirit  may  be  removed,  but  not  the  whole;  some  remains 
of  the  carnal  mind  may  yet  lurk  within;  so  that  the  soul 


12 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAT  ON 


is  not  fully  and  completely  restored  to  the  image  of  Christ. 
This  was  evidently  the  state  of  the  church  at  Corinth 
when  St.  Paul  wrote  his  first  epistle  to  it.  The  members 
of  that  church  were  not  perfectly  renewed.  There  were 
many  things  in  them  and  among  them  of  a  very  repre- 
hensible nature,  so  that  St.  Paul  says  unto  them,  "And 
I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  unto  babes  in  Christ.  For 
ye  are  yet  carnal:  fc  whereas  there  is  among  you  envy- 
ing, and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk 
as  men?  For  while  one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul;  and  another, 
I  am  of  Apollos;  are  ye  not  carnal?"  And  yet  these  very 
Corinthians  are  styled,  in  this  epistle,  "them  that  are 
sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus;''  (chap.  i.  2;)  and  again,  in 
another  place  of  this  same  epistle,  St.  Paul  says,  "But  ye 
are  washed;  but  ye  are  sanctified;  but  ye  are  justified;" 
&c.  (chap.  vi.  11.)  So  that  it  is  manifest  the  terms  in 
question,  in  these  passages  at  least,  denote  only  a  partial, 
not  a  complete  and  perfect  removal  of  the  depravity  of 
their  nature:  the  leaven  of  grace  was  in  them,  and  at 
work;  but  it  had  not  yet  leavened  the  whole  lump.  I 
think  the  term  "sanctified"  is  used  in  this  limited  sense 
in  other  passages  also;  as  in  Acts  xxvi.  18,  where  it  ap- 
pears  to  be  applied  to  the  whole  militant  church.  But 
sufficient  has  already  been  stated  fully  to  illustrate  and 
establish  this  point. 

In  the  fourth  and  last  place  we  may  ask,  after  what 
has  been  said,  whether  these  terms,  or  any  of  them,  be 
ever  so  used  in  the  Sacred  Writings  as  to  imply  a  full 
and  complete  deliverance  from  sin,  and  a  total  dedication 
of  ourselves  to  God?    And  to  this  question,  the  answer 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


13 


must  be  given  in  the  affirmative;  for,  after  all  that  has 
been  said,  and,  I  hope,  justly  said,  of  the  limited  meaning 
of  the  terms  in  question,  in  such  passages  as  those  refer- 
red to  above,  there  are  others  in  which  they  occur  with 
a  sense  and  meaning  so  large  and  comprehensive,  that 
nothing  short  of  absolute  deliverance  from  all  moral  de- 
filement, and  a  full  dedication  of  all  our  powers  to  God, 
can  reach  it.  Our  Lord  uses  the  term  sanctify  in  this 
sense  (1  John  xvii.  17)  when  praying  the  Father  to  "sanc- 
tify his  disciples  through  the  truth;"  and  so  also  does  St. 
Paul,  (1  Thess.  v.  23,)  where  he  says,  "And  the  very 
God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly:''  "implying,''  says  Mr. 
Benson,  "that  every  faculty  of  their  souls,  and  every 
sense  and  member  of  their  bodies,  should  be  completely 
purified,  and  devoted  to  the  service  of  God."  This,  then, 
being  the  sense  and  meaning  of  the  terms  in  question, 
when  applied  to  man,  and  used  in  their  full  and  abso- 
lute sense,  we  need  not  enlarge  upon  them  in  this  place, 
but  may  now  proceed  to  consider  the  thing  itself  signified 
by  them,  and  unfold  it  more  fully  unto  the  reader's  mind. 


14 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  NATURE  AND  EXTENT  OF  SANCTIFICATION. 

In  considering  the  nature  and  extent  of  sanctification 
in  man,  its  extent,  I  mean,  when  he  is  sanctified  wholly, 
man,  himself,  the  vessel  or  recipient  of  sanctifying  grace, 
must  necessarily  come  before  us,  and  all  the  cavities  of 
that  vessel,  the  members  and  senses  of  the  body  of  man, 
and  the  powers  and  faculties  of  his  mind,  must  pass  un- 
der calm  and  deliberate  review. 

The  faculties  of  the  mind  or  soul  of  man  have  been  di- 
vided into  two  classes,  called  the  inferior  and  superior 
faculties;  the  latter  including  the  understanding,  the  me- 
mory, the  will,  and  the  conscience;  and  the  former  the 
passions  in  general, — such  as  wonder,  love,  desire,  hope, 
joy,  hatred,  aversion,  fear,  sorrow,  and  the  like.  To  the 
body  of  man  belongs  its  members,  that  is,  the  hands  and 
feet,  and  the  other  fleshy  parts  which  go  to  make  up  our 
corporeal  nature;  and  in  these  our  wise  Creator,  when  con- 
stituting our  nature,  placed  the  senses  as  he  saw  good; 
namely,  the  faculties  of  seeing,  hearing,  feeling,  smell- 
ing, tasting;  and  the  body,  including  these  members  and 
senses,  and  the  soul,  with  all  its  faculties  and  powers, 
constitute  the  whole  of  God's  rational  creature,  man. 

Man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God.  (Gen.  i.  26.) 
This  image  had  respect  to  the  whole  of  man,  to  the  body 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


15 


and  to  the  soul,  and  every  faculty,  member,  and  sense 
thereof,  had  as  much  of  that  image  impressed  upon  it  as  it 
was  naturally  capable  of  receiving.  The  understanding 
was  bright  and  comprehensive;  the  memory,  tenacious 
of  good;  the  will  in  perfect  rectitude;  and  the  conscience, 
faithful  and  right.  The  passions,  and  the  senses  also,  were 
all  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  divine  will;  moreover,  the 
body  of  man  also,  according  to  some,  whose  conjectures 
concerning  it  appear  to  be  supported  by  the  Oracles  of 
truth,  was,  in  its  primitive  state,  clothed  with  light;  and 
to  crown  the  whole,  Adam  was  constituted  Lord  of  this 
lower  world.  (Gen.  i.  28.) 

In  this  state  of  perfection,  Adam  was  placed  in  the 
groves  of  Eden,  and  instructed  of  God.  Those  groves, 
or  the  garden,  was  not  the  boundary  of  his  dominion,  or 
extent  of  his  liberty  to  walk  and  view  the  work  of  God. 
It  was  a  kind  of  temple,  accordmg  to  the  ingenious  con- 
jecture of  Bp.  Home,  where  Adam  was  favored  with 
special  intercourse  with  his  Maker,  and  performed  the 
sublimer  acts  of  adoration  and  praise.  The  Bishop, 
moreover,  inclines  to  the  opinion,  that  the  ordinary  labor 
of  Adam  in  the  garden,  his  dressing  and  keeping  it,  was 
not  merely  for  the  exercise  of  his  body,  but  for  that  of 
the  mind  also;  the  objects  of  the  garden,  like  those  of  the 
temple  in  after  days,  serving  as  examples  of  things  more 
sacred  and  divine,  and  intended  by  the  Deity  himself  to 
raise  up  the  mind,  and  fix  it  on  things  in  his  presence 
above.    (See  Bp.  Home's  Discourses,  vol.  i.  p.  37.) 

Be  these  things,  however,  as  they  may,  one  thing  is 
clear  concerning  the  primitive  state  of  our  great  progeni- 
tor, which  is,  that  he  was  perfectly  happy,  because  he 


16 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAT  ON 


was  perfectly  holy,  and  just,  and  good.  There  was  no 
sin  in  him  then,  nor  any  natural  tendency  to  evil,  either 
in  the  body  or  mind;  and  had  he  continued  in  allegiance 
to  God,  as  he  certainly  might,  having  strength  from  the 
Deity  sufficient  for  that  purpose,  there  never  would  have 
been.  But  the  scene  changed,  and  this  state  of  things 
fled  away  from  our  earth  when  Adam  ate  of  the  forbid- 
den fruit.  He  was  then  stript  of  his  royalty.  The  crown 
was  snatched  away  from  his  head,  and  his  mantle  of  light, 
the  robe  of  his  innocence  and  honor,  departed  from  him, 
and  was  received  back  to  heaven. 

Nor  was  this  all  the  effect  of  his  transgression.  Satan 
entered  his  very  nature,  and  like  a  mighty  conqueror,  ran 
through  all  his  powers  and  faculties,  despoiling  the  glo- 
rious image  of  the  Deity,  and  causing  his  own  to  be 
erected  in  its  place.  Hence  ignorance  of  God  sat  brood- 
ing on  his  mind;  yea,  he  hated  him,  for  he  fled  from  him, 
and  foolishly  attempted  to  hide  himself  from  God  "be- 
hind the  trees  of  the  garden,''  as  if  the  trees  could  con- 
ceal him  from  the  eye  of  his  Judge! 

Now,  let  the  reader  observe,  that,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  Adam,  who  was  the  head  and 
representative  of  us  his  posterity,  entailed  the  conse- 
quences of  the  fall,  a  depraved  and  corrupt  nature,  upon 
all  his  descendants;  so  that  all  are,  by  nature,  sinful,  and 
corrupt;  that  is,  in  consequence  of  having  derived  a  pol- 
luted and  sinful  nature  from  our  great  progenitor,  all  that 
are  born  into  the  world  are  "children  of  wrath"  and  of 
death.  This  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  at  all  ac- 
count for  the  existence  of  so  much  sin  in  man,  whose  very 
nature  certainly  is  sinful,  sinful  throughout;  there  is  no 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


17 


part  or  faculty,  of  body  or  mind,  in  any  degree,  exempt. 
"The  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint." 
So  that  Babylon  in  ruins  affords  but  a  faint  idea  of  the 
ruined  state  of  man,  who  was  once  resplendent  with  the 
image  of  God.  I  cannot,  therefore,  but  think,  with 
Bishop  Wilkins,  strong  as  his  language  is,  that  "hell 
itself,  which  is  the  proper  place  of  sin,  is  not  more  full 
of  sin,  for  the  kinds  of  it,  than  our  nature  is;"  for,  as 
this  very  sensible  and  judicious  prelate  continues  to  ob- 
serve, "If  there  be  any  particular  sin  which  we  have 
not  fallen  into  in  our  lives,  it  is  not  for  want  of  corrupt 
principles  and  dispositions  in  our  natures  which  do  in- 
cline us  to  all,  but  by  God's  restraining  or  renewing 
grace,  which  hath  as  yet  withheld  us  from  them;  with- 
out which  we  should  break  out  into  as  great  abomina- 
tions as  were  ever  committed  by  the  vilest  of  men."  A 
little  further  on,  recommending  the  practice  of  studying 
our  own  nature  in  the  glass  of  the  vile  practices  of  the 
wicked,  he  says,  "There  is  not  any  kind  of  evil,  which 
either  man  or  devil  hath  committed,  but  there  are 
in  our  nature  the  principles  and  inclinations  of  it;  the 
best  of  us  being,  by  nature,  as  bad  as  the  worst  of  sin- 
ners.'' All  which,  awful  as  is  the  condition  in  which  it 
exhibits  our  fallen  nature,  must  be  allowed  to  be  just, 
unless  we  believe,  contrary  to  reason  and  to  the  Oracles 
of  God,  that  it  is  no  longer  a  safe  and  sure  maxim  in 
divinity,  that  "as  face  answereth  to  face  in  water,  so  the 
heart  of  man  to  man." 

But  sanctification  is  intended  to  repair  the  ruins  of 
our  nature,  and  restore  us  again  to  the  image  of  God. 
So  far,  at  least,  as  we  are  capable  of  enjoying  it  again 


18 


A  PRACTICAL  EfiSAV  ON 


on  earth  does  this  great  blessing  restore  us  to  it;  for  by 
it  the  Deity  delivers  us  from  sin,  and  from  Satan  also, 
and  he  himself  takes  possession  of  our  heart.  He 
creates  us  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works.  He 
purges  out  the  old  leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness,  and 
makes  us  a  new  lump.  So  that  of  the  powers  and  fa- 
culties of  the  Christian,  both  of  body  and  mind,  it  may 
be  said,  especially  when  this  blessing  is  complete  or 
entire,  "Where  sin  abounded,  grace  doth  much  more 
abound;  that  as  sin  reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might 
grace  reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life  by 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  But  that  the  reader  may  have 
a  better  and  more  ample  view  of  this  important  work, 
we  will  now  draw  a  little  nearer,  and  consider  some  of 
the  powers  and  faculties  of  man  separately,  and  see  how 
they  are  affected  by  this  great  work  of  God. 

The  understanding  is  entitled  to  the  first  consideration, 
on  various  accounts.  This  faculty  is  to  the  soul  what 
the  eye  is  to  the  body,  and  is  therefore  styled  "the  eye," 
by  St.  Paul.  (Eph.  i,  IS.)  It  is  the  inlet  or  entrance  of 
knowledge,  as  the  eye  of  the  body  is  of  light;  and  it  re- 
sembles the  eye  in  several  other  respects.  The  eye,  for 
example,  cannot  create  light;  nor  can  the  understanding 
create  knowledge.  The  eye  cannot  create  objects,  nor 
be  conscious  of  the  existence  of  objects,  till  they  are 
placed  before  it  in  the  light;  nor  can  the  understanding 
create  any  one  truth,  or  be  conscious  of  the  existence 
of  any,  till  placed  before  it  by  instruction.  Again,  as 
the  best  eyes  are  useless  without  light,  and  without  ob- 
jects of  vision;  just  so  it  is  with  the  understanding 
faculty  m  men,  which  must  forever  lie  dormant  in  the 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


19 


soul,  and  be  incapable  of  exertion,  if  no  objects  of  any 
kind  were  ever  presented  before  it.  We  may  yet  further 
observe,  that  as  the  eye  may  be  destroyed,  so  as  to  be 
void  of  all  use  in  the  blaze  of  the  sun,  even  thus  it  may 
be  with  the  understanding  of  men.  And  thus,  the  Apostle 
assures  us,  this  faculty,  in  the  unsanctified  children 
of  Adam,  is  actually  destroyed  by  Satan  and  sin.  "The 
God  of  this  world,"  says  he,  "hath  blinded  the  minds  of 
them  which  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious 
gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  shine 
unto  them."  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  working  of 
Satan  in  regard  to  this.  He  destroys  not  this  faculty  in 
regard  to  evil;  he  may  even  improve  it  in  its  perception 
of  wickedness,  and  cause  those  in  whom  he  rules  to  be 
"inventers  of  evil  things."  (Rom.  i,  30.)  But  with  re- 
gard to  those  things  which  are  really  and  truly  good, 
that  is,  things  which  be  of  God,  he  literally  puts  out 
their  eyes,  so  that  they  grope  as  the  blind  at  noon  day; 
not  through  the  absence  of  light,  but  for  want  of  a  spi- 
ritual faculty  to  take  in  the  light.  "For  the  natural 
man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God:  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him:  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned." 

Such  is  the  unsanctified  understanding  of  man,  and 
such  it  would  ever  remain,  but  for  the  sanctifying  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  in  the  process  of  this 
great  work  in  the  soul,  moral  or  spiritual  perception  is 
restored,  according  to  the  prayer  of  David,  "Open  thou 
mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  thy 
law;"  and  according  also  to  the  language  of  St.  John, 
who  says,  "And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  conne, 


20 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


and  hath  given  us  an  understanding,  that  we  may  know 
him  that  is  true,"  and  the  hke.  So  that,  by  the  power 
of  God,  a  faculty  of  spiritual  perception  is  restored  to 
the  soul,  by  means  of  which  we  are  enabled  to  under- 
stand the  things  which  belong  to  our  peace. 

As  to  the  time  and  manner  when  this  is  effected,  no 
doubt  it  commences,  though  in  a  very  small  degree,  in 
very  early  life,  and  perhaps  at  the  moment  we  corne 
into  the  world.  This,  at  least,  is  supposed  by  some  to 
be  the  meaning  of  that  text  which  considers  the  Saviour 
as  "the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world."  If  this  faculty  lie  dormant,  or  be  feeble 
in  children,  or  if  it  be  impaired,  for  want  of  religious 
education,  this  will  prove  nothing  against  the  thing  it- 
self. But  should  the  faculty  suffer  in  this  way,  God  can 
revisit  and  repair  it  again,  which  he  certainly  does  at 
our  conversion  to  God,  when  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul 
undergo  a  change.  This  faculty  of  the  soul  may,  after 
our  conversion  also,  undergo  still  further  changes  and 
improvements,  by  fresh  visits  of  the  Saviour's  power  and 
grace;  and  we  have  an  instance  of  this  kind  in  the  case 
of  the  disciples,  when  the  Lord  Jesus,  after  his  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead,  "opened  their  understanding"  afresh, 
"that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures"  more  fully 
than  they  had  hitherto  done.  (Luke  xxiv,  45.)  And 
thus,  by  repeated  acts  of  the  same  gracious  power  on 
the  mind  of  all  true  believers,  does  he  enlarge  the  un- 
derstanding to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  pleasure  and 
will. 

Now,  when  the  understanding  is  opened  as  above,  it 
must  not  lie  dormant,  or  be  destitute  of  light.  Neither 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


21 


must  it  be  radiated  with  a  few  dim  rays,  occasionally 
flitting  through  the  gloom  cf  our  spiritual  night.  It 
must  be  filled  with  day — gloriously  filled  with  sacred 
and  hallowing  light.  And  it  is  very  pleasing  to  observe 
the  terms  which  the  Scriptures  employ  in  reference  to 
this  point.  They  assure  us,  that  "light  is  sown  for  the 
righteous;"  that  "the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the 
light  of  the  sun,  and  that  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be 
sevenfold;"  that  the  followers  of  Jesus  "shall  not  walk 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life;"  and  that 
"if  their  eye  be  single,"  (if  they  are  wholly  sanctified,) 
"their  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light."  These  are 
great  words,  but  certainly  not  greater  than  true.  It 
does  not  follow,  however,  that  even  those  who  are  en- 
tirely sanctified  will  have  equal  degrees  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ:  for  no  two  on  earth,  and  perhaps  not 
in  heaven,  will  ever  be  equal  in  this  respect,  at  least 
they  may  never  appear  so  to  us.  Nor  should  we  avoid 
the  remark,  that  minds  may  differ,  as  the  stars,  in  their 
magnitude  and  capacity,  so  as  to  be  naturally  and  for 
ever  incapable  of  containing  the  same  multiplied  thought 
and  extended  conception,  even  in  things  which  are  holy, 
sacred,  and  divine.  So  that  the  entire  sanctification  of 
the  understanding  depends  not  on  the  degree  of  light  it 
may  possess,  but  on  its  being  fully  and  habitually  occu- 
pied by  sacred  and  heavenly  things.  And  from  hence 
it  will  follow,  that  the  understanding  of  a  child  is  as 
capable  of  being  sanctified  as  is  that  of  a  Newton,  and 
that  of  a  Newton  as  that  of  an  angel  in  heaven.  In 
every  case,  let  the  mind,  be  its  capacity  more  or  less,  be 
full  of  light;  and  long  as  it  continues  in  that  state,  so 
3* 


22 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


long  the  work  we  are  speaking  of  is  complete.  We 
come  now  to  consider 

THE  MEMORY. 

The  memory  is  that  faculty  of  the  soul  where  she 
lays  up  her  stock  of  ideas.  Ideas  are  the  soul's  treasure; 
hence  the  memory  may  be  called  the  treasury  of  the 
soul,  into  which  she  can  retire,  as  misers  do  to  their 
wealth,  and  dispose  and  arrange  her  ideas  according  to 
her  will.  The  memory  may  also  be  called  the  soul's 
laboratory;  for  hereinto  she  often  repairs,  and  of  the 
various  materials  she  has  in  possession,  projects  her 
designs  both  of  evil  and  good. 

There  is  a  manifest  and  wonderful  difference  in  the 
memories  of  men,  which  has  been  thought  to  depend 
exclusively  on  the  texture  of  the  brain.  But  if  this 
speculation  were  true  with  regard  to  recollection  in 
general,  which  there  is  reason  to  doubt,  there  are  cer- 
tain phenomena  of  memory  which  certainly  depend  on 
invisible  agency,  diabolic,  angelic,  or  divine.  We  forget 
some  things,  but  recollect  others,  which  were  told  us 
at  the  same  lime.  The  things  we  remember  are  things 
of  no  moment,  perhaps  even  sinful  and  base;  but  those 
we  forget  are  of  infinite  moment,  the  vast  and  im- 
portant concerns  of  the  soul.  Millions  of  occurrences 
like  these  are  daily  transpiring,  in  every  rank  and  every 
station  of  life;  but  how  are  they  to  be  accounted  for,  if 
the  memory  depends  on  nothing  but  the  brain?  Can  the 
brain,  in  the  saine  moment  of  time,  be  tenacious  of  one 
thing,  and  not  equally  so  of  another?    If  left  to  itself, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


23 


must  it  not  equally  receive  and  retain,  all  manner  of 
ideas  and  impressions  that  come  in  its  way?  How  then 
comes  it  to  pass  that  the  memories  of  unsanctified  men 
are  so  singularly  retentive  of  evil,  while  things  of  a  con- 
trary nature  are  as  seldom  retained?  Beside,  if  our 
memory  solely  depend  on  the  brain,  where  does  it  go  in 
the  day  of  one's  death?  Are  we  to  suppose  that  till  the 
morning  of  tlie  resurrection  it  slumbers  in  the  clods  of 
the  valley,  raked  up  in  the  dust  of  death?  or  that  it 
ceases  to  burn  when  the  lamp  of  life  goes  out,  and  that 
its  last  feeble  embers  are  entirely  put  out  by  the  crawling 
inhabitants  of  the  dark  and  gloomy  grave?  or  are  we  to 
suppose  that  disembodied  spirits  in  heaven  have  no  mem- 
ories? that  they  have  no  recollection  of  any  thing?  no 
ideas,  nor  knowledge?  Shall  we  suppose  this,  1  repeat, 
or  come  to  the  more  rational  and  scriptural  conclusion, 
that  the  memory  has  its  seat  in  the  soul,  in  the  hidden 
recesses  of  the  heart  of  man,  and  that  it  will  bloom  in 
the  skies  when  our  flesh  shall  decay? 

But  wherever  the  memory  may  be  seated,  we  know, 
from  the  testimony  of  Christ  concerning  it,  that,  till 
sanctified  by  grace,  it  is  under  the  dominion  of  Satan 
himself  Let  any  one  read  the  parable  of  the  sower, 
and  doubt  the  truth  of  this  if  he  can.  "The  sower 
soweth  the  word,"  says  Jesus;  and  then  he  proceeds  to 
assure  us,  concerning  the  "way-side"  hearers,  that, 
soon  as  the  word  is  sown,  "Satan  cometh  immediately, 
and  taketh  away  the  word  that  was  sown  in  their  hearts." 
(Mark  iv,  15.)  Can  those  who  profess  to  believe  the 
testimony  of  Jesus,  require  additional  proof,  that  Satan 
rules  the  memory  of  unsanctified  man,  and  will  not  suffer 
it  to  retain  the  doctrines  of  God? 


24 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


On  the  other  hand  we  may  observe,  and  it  ought  to 
be  observed,  that  he  acts  an  equal  part  in  causing  the 
memory  to  retain  ideas  of  things  which  are  ill.  The 
parable  of  the  tares  in  the  field  is  sufficient  proof  of 
this.  It  is  "the  devil,"  as  our  Lord  assures  us,  who 
"soweth  the  tares  among  the  wheat;"  that  is,  who 
putteth  those  false  opinions  and  principles,  and  views  of 
things,  into  the  souls  of  men,  which  make  the  tares, 
or  "children  of  the  wicked  one,"  just  what  they  are. 
And  this  he  does  with  as  much  ease  and  facility  as  that 
with  which  he  picketh  up  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom 
which  may  happen,  on  any  occasion,  to  be  sown  in  the 
heart.  So  that  nothing  can  well  be  clearer  than  this, 
that  the  memories  of  unsanctified  men,  both  in  retaining 
evil,  and  in  forgetting  that  which  is  good,  are  greatly 
and  awiuily  under  the  control  of  that  wicked  "Spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience.'' 

But  sanctification  produces  a  change  in  the  memory 
of  man.  It  destroys  the  working  of  Satan  therein,  and 
teaches  us,  in  some  sense,  the  art  of  forgetting;  for  we 
remember  no  longer  our  former  ideas,  or  not  for  the 
purposes  we  formerly  did.  It  empties  the  chamber  of 
its  furniture,  and  fills  it  with  other  furniture  of  a  very 
difl"erent  kind.  If  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  retain 
this  figure  for  a  moment,  I  would  say,  that  in  this 
apartment  of  the  soul  of  man  may  now  be  seen,  even 
on  its  walls  and  ceiling,  the  impress  and  images  of  holy 
and  heavenly  things.  It  is  even  floored  with  a  pure 
mosaic  of  everlasting  truth,  more  precious  than  rubies, 
and  brighter  than  the  stars  that  bespangle  the  night; 
while  the  cross  of  the  Redeemer,  resplendent  in  the 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


25 


midst,  diffuses  unutterable  glory  through  the  whole,  and 
hallows  and  makes  it  the  residence  of  God.  This  will 
unfold  the  fact  of  the  case,  and  give  an  idea  of  the  state 
of  the  memory,  when  wholly  sanctified  to  God;  and  the 
scriptural  way  of  accounting  for  this  may  be  seen  by 
attention  to  the  following  words: 

"I  will  put  my  law  into  their  mind,"  says  Jehovah, 
"and  write  it  upon  their  hearts."  Let  the  reader  ob- 
serve, that  God  himself  engages  to  do  this;  the  hand 
which  traced  upon  the  two  tables  of  stone  the  ten  pre- 
cepts of  Moses,  will  write  upon  our  memories  the  texts 
and  doctrines  of  his  holy  law,  and  make  us  acquainted 
with  all  his  gracious  will.  The  same  thing  appears  to 
be  contained  in  the  following  words:  "Howbeit,  when 
he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth."  And  again,  "But  the  Comforter,  which  is 
the  Holy  Ghost, — he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance  whatsoever  I  have 
said  unto  you."  So  that  if  the  memory,  in  our  sancti- 
fication,  becomes  apt  to  receive  and  strong  to  retain  the 
hallowing  truths  of  the  gospel,  these  passages  go  to 
prove,  that  the  change  in  it  is  produced  by  the  special 
operation  of  the  Deity  upon  it,  and  that  this  happy  sta.te 
of  the  memory  is  kept  up  only  by  that  self-same  opera- 
tion being  perpetuated  in  the  heart.  But  it  is  now  time 
to  take  into  consideration  the  sanctification  of 

THE  WILL. 

The  will  of  man  is  that  faculty  of  our  nature  which 
directs  our  voluntary  actions,  and,  so  far  as  we  have  light 


26 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


concerning  it,  appears,  from  its  very  nature,  incapable 
of  constraint.  The  body  may  suffer  compulsion,  may 
be  carried,  contrary  to  our  inclination,  this  way  or  that; 
but  this  can  have  no  effect  on  the  disposition  or  will. 
The  negro  in  chains,  the  captive  in  slavery  and  bondage, 
can  range  as  freely  in  thought  as  the  tyrant  that  hum- 
bles his  body  to  the  dust;  while,  on  the  contrary,  we 
may  remark,  that  a  rebel  in  heart  and  will,  may  render 
external  homage  to  legitimate  rule  and  authority,  only 
for  want  of  son)e  safer  opportunity  of  following  the  dis- 
position of  his  will.  But  whatever  men  do  or  say,  there 
is  one  thing  concerning  the  will  which  cannot  admit  of 
the  slightest  doubt,  namely,  that  while  it  remains  in  an 
unsanctified  stale,  it  spurns  with  disdain  the  easy  yoke 
of  Christ.  The  will  of  man,  indeed,  in  its  natural  state 
is  awfully  rebellious  against  God.  It  rebels  even  when 
there  is  no  temptation  to  rebel;  no  pleasure,  profit,  or 
honor,  arising  from  the  action,  save  the  pleasure  we 
find  in  doing  our  own  will  in  preference  to  that  of  our 
Maker  and  Judge.  Nay,  we  often  rebel  to  our  certain 
loss,  foreseen  and  foreknown;  and  for  no  other  assignable 
reason  but  because  we  will  do  it,  because  we  choose  to 
act  in  that  particular  way;  and  all  this  not  through 
ignorance  or  mistake,  but  when  we  know  in  our  con- 
sciences and  hearts  that  the  deeds  we  are  doing  are 
contrary  to  the  mind  and  will  of  God.  So  that  the 
"carnal  mind"  is  justly  said  to  be  "enmity  against  God; 
for  it  is  not,"  says  the  Apostle,  "subject  to  the  law  of 
God,  neither  indeed  can  it  be."  And  this  single  text 
contains  the  most  consummately  awful  picture  of  the 
state  of  the  unsanctified  will  that  human  language  can 


ENTIRE  SANCTIPICATION. 


27 


paint,  or  human  thought  conceive.  We  shall  feel  all 
the  force  of  the  remark  now  before  us  if  we  first  con- 
sider the  Being  against  whom  the  enmity  is  maintained, 
who  is  no  other  than  God, — the  best,  the  wisest,  and 
greatest  of  all  beings;  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  life 
and  for  all  things,  and  then  suffer  our  minds  to  rest  upon 
the  words,  enmity  against  Godf  not  subject  to  the  law 
of  Godl  neither  indeed  can  be! 

But  sanctification  removes  this  rebellion  from  the 
will.  It  enters  into  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  touches 
the  secret  springs  of  action,  and  forms  the  will  anew. 
So  that  we  refuse  to  do  evil,  and  choose  to  do  good,  with 
as  much  cordiality,  freedom,  and  cheerfulness  as  we  did 
the  contrary  before;  and  we  do  it  at  the  expense  of  our 
worldly  interest,  ease,  honor,  liberty,  and  life  itself;  and 
for  no  other  reason,  cause,  or  consideration,  but  because 
it  is  the  will  and  pleasure  of  God;  choosing  rather  to 
die  than  act  contrary  to  his  will. 

Nor  is  this  obedience  of  the  will,  in  those  who  are 
entirely  sanctified,  a  partial  or  defective  thing.  It  ex- 
tends to  every  sacred  injunction,  whether  great  or  small, 
and  whether  agreeable  to  our  natural  predilections  or 
not.  It  acts  a  part  which,  in  some  respects  at  least,  is 
the  very  reverse  of  the  conduct  of  Saul,  when  God 
commanded  him  to  destroy  the  Amalekites  out  of  the 
land.  Saul  went  willingly  to  the  war  against  Amalek. 
He  performed  part  of  his  duty,  that  which  was  most 
agreeable  to  his  will,  with  promptitude  and  pleasure; 
yet  he  left  a  considerable  portion  of  his  duty  undone,  in 
sparing  Agag,  the  king,  and  the  choicest  of  all  the  oxen 
and  sheep.    How  far  this  glass  will  exhibit  the  conduct 


28 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


of  the  reader,  is  not  for  me  to  determine.  But  is  not  every 
professor  of  religion,  save  those  who  are  entirely  sancti- 
fied, acting  daily,  in  one  thing  or  another,  and  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  precisely  in  the  same  way?  doing 
those  things  with  cheerfulness  which  happen  to  be  more 
honorable,  or  more  congenial  to  their  natural  disposition, 
their  families,  their  friends,  or  their  interest,  or  which 
expose  them  less  to  suffering,  obloquy,  scorn,  peril,  or 
the  sword,  and  the  like;  while  duties  of  an  opposite 
character  and  complexion  are  suffered  perpetually  to 
remain  undone.  These  professors,  when  returning  from 
the  performance  of  those  duties  which  they  love,  are 
ready  to  say  to  their  frifinds,  as  Saul  did  to  Samuel, 
"Blessed  be  ye  of  the  Lord;  1  have  performed  the  will 
of  the  Lord;"  while,  at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  those 
very  friends,  in  regard  to  many  neglected  duties,  might 
say,  "What  meaneth,  then,  this  bleating  of  the  sheep  in 
mine  ears,  and  this  lowing  of  the  oxen  which  I  hear?" 
You  act  well  your  part  in  attending  the  house  of  God, 
but  your  closet  cries  out  against  you.  You  reprove  the 
ungodly  and  instruct  the  ignorant  abroad;  but  your  wife, 
children,  and  servants  are  neglected  at  home;  or,  you 
do  well  at  home,  you  care  as  you  ought  for  your  children 
and  domestics;  but  neglect  the  cries  of  the  perishing 
abroad.  You  are  just,  but  not  generous;  or,  generous, 
but  not  just.  You  visit  the  affluent  and  the  healthy;  but 
the  poor,  and  especially  the  sick  and  the  dying,  are 
daily  neglected.  The  mansion,  or  even  the  cottage, 
where  health  and  happiness  and  hymns  of  praise  are 
united,  is  very  agreeable,  and  visited  occasionally  with- 
out any  reluctance;  but  the  chamber  or  garret  of  wretch- 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION, 


29 


edness,  the  wards  of  hospitals  and  cells  of  prisons,  where 
human  misery  extreme  takes  up  its  abode  amid  sighs 
and  groans,  and  the  harsh  clinking  of  chains,  are  ne- 
glected, as  if  God  would  have  us  neglect  them,  or  as  if 
he  had  never  expressed  to  us  bis  pleasure  concerning 
these  things.  We  "pay  tithes  of  mint,  and  rue,  and 
cummin,  and  anise;  but  neglect  the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law,  such  as  judgment,  mercy,  and  the  love  of  God." 

Now,  the  reader  may  rest  assured,  that  while  we  in 
this  way  prefer  some  of  the  duties  of  religion  before 
others,  and,  without  any  kind  of  necessity  for  so  doing, 
make  choice  of  this,  and  refuse  that,  our  will  is  not 
right  in  the  sight  of  the  Almighty.  If  it  be  sanctified 
in  part,  it  is  not  wholly  sanctified,  it  is  not  entirely  sub- 
dued. We  are  self-willed  still,  so  far  as  we  act,  even 
in  religious  matters,  in  a  partial  and  selecting  way, 
without  any  regard  to  what  is  most  needful  and  right, 
and  most  in  accordance  with  the  mind  and  will  of  God. 
A  deep  sense  of  this,  and  a  fear  least  it  should  prove, 
in  any  degree,  to  be  our  own  case,  should  lead  us  to  be 
very  importunate  with  the  Deity,  that  we  may  be  able 
and  willing,  upon  all  occasions  whatsoever,  to  under- 
stand and  do  his  righteous  and  perfect  will.  Because 
"to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than 
the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of  witch- 
craft, and  stubbornness  is  as  idolatry,"  even  when  it  is 
partial  only,  as  in  the  case  referred  to  in  these  words. 
(1  Sam.  XV.) 

The  conscience  of  man  must  next  be  considered,  and 
its  entire  sanctification  must  be  clearly  pointed  out.  Great 
and  swelling  words  of  vanity  have  been  used  concerning 
4 


30 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


the  conscience  of  man,  and  a  degree  of  dominion  ascribed 
to  it  that  cannot  be  conceded  by  men  of  sound  and  sober 
sense.  It  has  been  said,  for  example,  that  "conscience 
is  an  interna]  law  of  our  nature,  which  enjoins  nothing 
at  any  time  but  that  which  is  right,  and  which,  there- 
fore, it  is  not  only  lawful,  but  virtuous  also,  upon  all 
occasions,  to  obey."  It  is  well  for  the  world,  however, 
that  this  doctrine  is  confined  within  narrow  circles,  and 
forms  not  the  basis  of  any  laws  upon  earth.  For  what 
should  we  think  if  the  laws  of  Great  Britain  were  to 
call  an  assassin  "virtuous,"  and  laud  and  reward  his 
deed,  because  he  himself  happened  to  think  it  his  duty 
to  stab  his  neighbor  to  the  heart?  If  it  be  said,  that 
the  conscience  of  no  man  can  ever  approve  of  that 
which  is  really  and  intrinsically  wrong,  we  ask  for  the 
proof — allowing,  at  the  same  time^  that  if  it  appears 
wrong  to  him,  he  certainly  cannot.  But  the  conscience 
,  of  man,  like  all  the  other  faculties  of  the  mind,  is  liable 
!  to  awful  deterioration.  It  may  be  blind,  hard,  or  even 
seared;  in  whicii  cases  it  will  not  be  governed  by  just 
and  righteous  principles,  or  form  its  decisions  by  a  clear 
and  sober  perception  of  truth.  It  views  every  thing 
through  some  deceitful  medium,  which,  like  the  prismatic 
glass,  or  convex  mirror,  gives  an  oblique  and  very  dis- 
torted appearance  to  things,  or  covers  them  with  a 
deceitful  and  quite  unnatural  light.  The  consciences  of 
those  Jews  whom  the  prophet  charges  with  calling  "evil 
good,  and  good  evil,"  and  with  putting  "darkness  for 
light,  and  light  for  darkness,"  and  the  like,  were  pre- 
cisely in  the  state  we  have  now  been  supposing;  and 
some  even  of  our  own  philosophers,  such,  for  example. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


31 


as  Lord  Kaime,  are  in  no  better  state.  This  philosopher 
endeavors  to  persuade  his  readers,  that  every  man's 
private  opinion  is,  to  himself,  the  only  rule  of  right  and 
wrong;  that  his  actions  may  be  wrong  in  themselves, 
or,  according  to  the  judgment  of  others,  they  may  be 
wrong,  but  he  himself  is  right  and  innocent,  if  he 
only  happens  to  think  so  himself.  Some  of  his  Lord- 
ship's words  (see  his  Sketclies  of  the  History  of  Man, 
vol.  ii,  p.  252)  are  as  follows:  "To  assassinate  an  atheist 
for  religion,"  says  he,  "is  a  wrong  action;  and  yet  the 
enthusiast  who  commits  the  wrong  may  be'innocent: — 
he  is  approved  or  disapproved,  held  to  be  innocent  or 
guilty,  according  to  his  own  opinion."  Had  his  Lord- 
ship existed  in  earlier  times,  and  been  called  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  the  murderers  of  King  Charles,  or  on  the 
blind  and  bigoted  Catholics,  who  thought  it  an  act  of 
faith,  and,  consequently,  not  only  innocent,  but  pleasing 
to  God,  to  burn  Protestants  at  the  stake,  what  would 
consistency  have  led  him  to  do?  And  yet  in  smaller 
matters,  matters  at  least  which  appear  so  to  us,  how 
often  professors  of  religion  act  on  these  principles,  and 
justify  their  proceedings  in  exactly  the  same  way.  A 
ball,  a  play,  the  card  table,  profusion  in  furniture  and 
dress,  and  a  thousand  other  things,  though  plainly  for- 
bidden in  the  Scriptures,  are  sinful  only  to  them  who 
think  them  so,  but  to  others  perfectly  harmless,  inno- 
cent as  the  food  we  eat,  or  as  the  slumber  which  re. 
freshes  our  weariness  at  night.  Persons  who  entertain 
these  kinds  of  notions  concerning  the  consciences  of  men, 
seem  not  to  be  av/are  that  they  attribute  to  the  conscience 
a  power  beyond  that  of  Omnipotence  itself;   a  power 


32 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


which  makes  the  same  kind  of  action  both  right  and 
wrong,  sinful  and  not  sinful,  at  one  and  the  same  time! 
But  leaving  these  opinions,  and  all  who  embrace  them, 
to  the  mercy  of  Him  whose  authority  over  conscience 
they  so  flagrantly  impugn,  we  will  turn  to  that  light 
which  cannot  lead  us  wrong,  and  inquire  concerning  the 
conscience  in  the  Oracles  of  God. 

Now,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  a  conscience  en- 
tirely sanctified  is  governed,  in  all  its  decisions,  by  the 
Oracles  of  God.    Conscience  itself  is  not,  upon  any 

i occasion,  the  rule  of  right  and  wrong,  much  less  the 
only  rule.  It  is  not  a  law,  but  a  judge,  and  must,  there- 
fore,  determine  the  right  and  wrong  of  actions  accord- 
ing to  some  previously  known  and  acknowledged  rule 
or  law,  which  rule  or  law  is  the  revealed  will  of  God. 
And  in  forming  its  opinions  according  to  this  rule,  there 
are  three  things  which  a  conscience  wholly  sanctified 
steadily  surveys.  The  first  is,  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  law,  or  written  word  of  God.  The  second  is,  our 
own  actions,  words,  and  dispositions.  The  third  is,  the 
agreement  or  disagreement  of  our  actions,  words,  and 
dispositions,  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  written 
word  of  God.  These  three  circumstances  go  into  every 
thing  which  deserves  to  be  considered  as  an  act  of  a 
conscience  governed  by  grace;  and  the  conscience  is  then 
sanctified  wholly  when  enabled,  in  this  way,  to  pro- 
nounce, that,  in  every  thing  we  do,  we  are  solely  gov- 
erned by  the  Oracles  of  Truth,  and  when  we  tremble  at 
the  thought  of  acting  contrary  thereunto. 

Before  I  bring  this  matter  to  a  close,  it  may  be  proper 
just  to  suggest,  that  from  the  preceding  remarks,  it  will 


ENTIRE  SAXCTIFICATIOX. 


33 


follow  of  course,  that  no  Deist,  as  such,  because  he  re- 
jects  revelation  as  a  rule  of  his  life;  and  that  no  Roman 
Catholic,  while  denied  the  use  of  the  Scriptures,  and  is 
thereby  rendered  incapable  of  judging  by  their  light  of 
the  propriety  or  impropriety  of  his  own  conduct;  and 
that  all  Protestants  themselves,  in  all  those  cases  of  con- 
duct  which  they  refuse  or  neglect  to  place  in  the  bal- 
ance of  Scripture,  must  be  incapable  of  a  conscience 
evangelically  good;  for  the  Gospel  rule  not  being  present 
to  the  mind,  in  some  of  these  cases,  and  not  respected 
in  others,  if  it  should  happen  to  be  present,  can  neither 
be  said  to  acquit  nor  condemn,  nor  does  the  conscience 
acquit  or  condemn  by  its  light. 

Having  considered  the  superior  faculties  of  the  mind, 
and  given  some  account  of  their  entire  sanctification,  the 
plan  I  proposed  to  pursue,  and  the  method  I  have  hith- 
erto adopted  in  this  essay,  require  me  now  to  consider 

THE  PASSIONS. 

The  passions  are  a  class  of  powers,  emotions,  or 
faculties  of  the  mind,  which  are  called  into  action  when 
any  particular  object  is  presented  to  our  view.  The 
first  of  the  passions  of  the  mind  appears  to  be  wonder: 
wonder  being  the  first  emotion  excited  in  the  breast 
when  any  thing  new  is  presented  before  us.  The  next 
to  wonder  appear  to  be  love  and  hatred,  as  one  or  other 
of  these  passions  appears  to  be  excited  as  the  new  ob- 
ject presented  before  us  is  agreeable  or  disagreeable, 
worthy  of  love,  or  entitled  to  our  hate.  After  love  and 
hatred  come  the  passions  of  desire  and  aversion,  excited 


34 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


to  action  in  our  breast  according  as  the  object  before  us 
seems  adapted  to  our  circumstances,  and  calculated  to 
afford  us  advantage  or  occasion  us  pain.  Next  to  de- 
sire and  aversion,  the  passions  of  hope  and  of  fear  seem 
to  follow  in  the  train;  the  former  of  these  is  sensibly 
felt  in  the  bosom  when  the  object  before  us  is  good,  and 
likely  to  be  ours;  the  latter,  when  the  object  seems  evil 
in  itself,  and  likely  to  pour  all  its  phials  on  our  head. 
Joy  and  sorrow  next  claim  our  attention.  We  are  sen- 
sible of  sorrow  when  any  calamity  befalls  us,  and  of 
joy,  when  any  thing  befalls  us  in  any  sense  good.  These 
seem  the  principal  passions  of  our  nature;  to  which,  if 
we  add  complacency  and  anger,  both  of  which  are  often 
excited,  and  sometimes  properly  excited,  in  us,  we  shall 
have  no  occasion  to  enlarge,  or  attempt  a  more  ample 
development  of  these  faculties  of  the  mind. 

Now,  the  passions,  though  styled  the  inferior  faculties 
of  our  nature,  ai  c  essential  to  the  perfection  of  our  na- 
ture, and  to  the  moral  accountability  of  man  to  his  God; 
for  a  pure  intelligence,  if  by  that  term  we  may  be 
allowed  to  understand,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  a 
being  of  the  brightest  limited  apprehension  and  know- 
ledge, but  destitute  of  the  passions,  would  scarcely  be 
equal  to  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  For  what  idea  could 
one  form  of  even  an  angel,  if  unable  to  wonder,  adore, 
and  love?  Even  the  |)assions  of  fear,  and  sorrow,  of  the 
uses  of  which  in  the  regions  of  bliss  we  are  not  well 
able  to  give  any  account,  may,  nevertheless,  be  necessary 
there; — 1  say,  these  passions  themselves  may  be  neces- 
sary there,  though  subject  to  modifications  and  laws  very 
different  from  those  which  they  are  subject  to  on  earth, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


35 


and  excited  perhaps  in  a  very  different  way.  Be  this, 
however,  as  it  may,  we  know  the  passions  to  be  as  much 
a  part  of  our  nature,  as  the  understanding  itself,  or  any 
other  power  or  faculty  of  the  soul;  but  being  disordered 
by  the  fall  of  our  great  progenitOT,  they  need  that  tho- 
rough improvement  which  nothing  but  sanctification  can 
give,  A  little  attention  to  the  following  remarks  may 
make  this  both  plain  and  familiar  to  the  mind. 

In  consequence  of  the  blindness  of  his  mind,  if  the 
wonder  of  the  ungodly  be  excited  at  all  by  the  works  of 
creation,  it  is  something  in  the  objects  themselves,  the 
vast,  the  rare,  or  the  unaccountable,  which  excites  it, 
and  not  their  visible  displays  of  the  wisdom,  power,  or 
goodness  of  God.  Or,  when  surveying  those  great  and 
sublimcr  events  which  happen  in  the  world,  such  as  the 
overthrow  of  armies,  loss  of  navies,  burning  of  cities 
and  of  temples,  the  rise  and  fall  of  empires,  plagues, 
pestilences,  dearths,  famines,  and  the  like,  he  attributes 
them  to  chance,  to  fate,  to  fortune,  to  heroes;  to  any 
thing,  or  nothing,  rather  than  to  God;  and  thus  a  Han- 
nibal or  a  Caesar,  or  the  winds  and  waves,  have  received 
that  homage  from  our  grovelling  wonder  which  ought  to 
have  been  paid  exclusively  to  God.  As  for  the  economy 
of  redemption,  thougii  a  theme  of  speechless  wonder  to 
angels,  so  that  the  knowing  cherub  tries  to  explore  it  in 
vain,  it  excites  no  wonder  in  -the  unsanctified  bosom  of 
man,  who  hears,  not  listens  to,  the  tale  with  apathy 
when  caused  to  assail  his  ears,  and  turns  from  its  music 
with  antipathy  and  disgust.  And  as  we  thus  wonder  at 
nothing  but  trifles,  so  are  we  pleased  with  nothing  but 
vanity  and  vice.    The  vain  and  foolish  things  of  the 


36 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


world  excite  our  warmest  affections:  and  as  we  love 
these  supremely,  we  desire  and  hope  for  them  ardently, 
and  if  we  obtain  them,  then  we  rejoice.  Thus  the  pas- 
sions follow  each  other  in  interminable  circles,  but  void 
of  all  peace,  and  happiness,  and  rest.  Whereas  reason 
and  tlie  sacred  Scriptures,  declare  it  is  wrong  for  the 
passions  of  man  to  be  excited  thus.  "Love  not  the 
world,"  says  St.  John,  "neither  the  things  which  are  in 
the  world.  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him." 

On  the  other  hand,  as  the  unsanctified  man  has  very 
erroneous  and  distorted  views  of  God  and  divine  tilings; 
so  he  hates  them,  feels  averse  to  them,  fears  them  as 
evils,  and  mourns  if  their  influence  prevails  in  the 
world.  Proofs  of  all  this  may  be  found  in  abundance, 
in  almost  every  portion  of  the  sacred  page.  But  it  will 
be  quite  sufficient,  once  for  all,  simply  to  advert  to  the 
testimony  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  the 
latter  declares  that  he  "hates"  even  'Hhe  light;''''  and 
the  former  considers  him  as  a  '■'hater''''  even  "0/  God" 
himself,  the  Author  and  Giver  of  every  thing  good. 
(John  iii,  20.  Rom.  i,  30.) 

All  this  may  serve  to  convince  us  that  the  passions  of 
unsanctified  men  are  in  a  state  of  the  utmost  disorder 
and  confusion,  restless  as  the  waves  of  the  sea,  turbid  £is 
the  troubled  ocean;  and  that,  instead  of  producing  that 
lovely  order  of  things  which  mistaken  philosophers  and 
poets  have  thought  them  capable  of  producing,  with 
nothing  but  "wild  nature's  vigor  working  at  their  root," 
the  reverse  has  been  the  case  in  every  nation  and  age  of 
the  world.    Did  not  the  passion  of  love,  wandering  from 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


37 


God,  and  fixing  on  the  forbidden  fruit,  tarnish  the  groves 
of  Eden  with  sin?  Did  not  hatred,  misplaced,  first 
moisten  the  earth  with  human  blood?  Trace  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  of  ancient  or  modern  times;  reflect 
on  the  crimes  of  Sodom,  or  of  Egypt  in  days  of  old; 
look  on  the  passions  of  Greece  in  the  conduct  of  her 
heroes;  mark  the  consequences  of  ambition,  and  other 
sinful  passions  in  the  souls  of  the  Romans,  in  the  degra- 
dation of  kings  whom  their  proud  consuls  led  in  chains, 
in  the  imperial  cities  they  destroyed  in  their  intermi- 
nable wars;  in  the  rivers  of  human  blood  which  they 
shed,  not  only  in  war,  but  in  times  of  peace,  in  the 
shows  of  gladiatory  combats,  in  which  millions  of  human 
beings  lost  their  lives  for  no  other  reason  but  this, — 
their  tyrants  would  have  it  so;  and  would  thereby  afford 
a  worse  than  brutal  satisfaction  to  the  spectators,  who, 
on  those  awful  occasions  of  deliberate  and  black  murder, 
flowed,  like  mighty  waters,  from  the  city  into  their  vast 
amphitheatres,  built  to  afford  them  a  greater  facility  in 
feasting  their  eyes  and  ears  with  those  scenes  of  blood 
and  death.  The  history  of  Rome  is  an  aceldema 
throughout.  To  those  who  are  acquainted  therewith, 
the  very  names  of  her  Tarquins,  her  Coriolanus,  her 
Scipios,  her  Cinna,  her  Sylla,  her  Marius,  her  Pompey, 
and  her  long  line  of  Caesars,  carry  awful  ideas  con- 
cerning the  passions  of  men.  Heaven  seems  to  have 
suffered  them  to  acquire  their  full  stature,  and  to  stand 
like  pyramids  on  the  page  of  history,  to  show  us  what 
the  passions  will  actually  bring  forth,  if  their  growth  be 
not  greatly  restrained  by  the  power  and  mercy  of  God. 
Nor  is  it  in  heroes  alone  that  we  see  the  passions  of 


38 


A   PRACTICAL   ESSAY  ON 


mankind  in  this  disordered  state.  In  every  line  of  life 
we  see  the  same  thing.  Some  vile  passion  or  other, 
not  reason,  nor  religion,  governs  every  man,  and  every 
woman,  in  whom  the  Gospel  has  not  had  its  desired 
effect;  filling  our  prisons  with  felons,  our  streets  and 
garrets  and  cellars  with  ruined  females,  and  our  hospi- 
tals with  incurable  diseases.  Even  the  passion  of  love 
alone,  when  placed  only  on  "money,"  is  said  to  be  "the 
root  of  all  evil;"  for,  "while  some  have  coveted  after 
it,  they  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  them- 
selves through  with  mauy  sorrows." 

While  I  am  on  the  subject  of  the  passions,  which  I 
find  a  very  important  one,  it  will  not  be  deemed  a  di- 
gression if  [  notice  the  love  of  novels,  and  books  of  that 
class,  which  swells  in  many  a  human  breast.  Nor  do  I 
know  any  thing  which  more  fully  exhibits  the  wildness, 
excess,  and  misery,  of  the  human  passions,  than  this. 

Some  philosophers  have  taken  notice  of  this  taste  for 
fictitious  history,  as  tlie  love  of  novels  has  been  called, 
and  considered  it  a  proof  of  the  greatness  and  dignity 
of  the  human  mind.  "The  objects  of  this  world,"  it  is 
said,  "and  the  common  train  of  affairs  which  are  seen 
going  on  in  it,  do  not  fill  the  mind,  nor  give  it  entire 
satisfaction.  We  seek  for  something  that  shall  expand 
the  mind  in  a  greater  degree;  we  seek  for  more  heroic 
and  illustrious  deeds,  for  more  diversified  and  surprising 
events,  for  a  more  splendid  order  of  things,  a  more  re- 
gular and  just  distribution  of  rewards,  than  what  we  find 
here:  and  because  we  meet  not  these  in  true  history,  we 
have  recourse  to  fictitious.  We  create  new  worlds  ac- 
cording to  our  fancy,  in  order  to  gratify  our  capacious 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


39 


desires."  Such  were  the  oj)inions  of  Lord  Bacon,  as 
cited  by  Blair,  who  dignifies  them  with  the  epithet  of 
"eery  ingenious."  Allowing,  however,  the  soundness 
of  some  of  his  liordship's  principles — that  the  soul 

IS  TOO  VAST  TO  RECEIVE  SATISFACTION  FROM  THE  COM- 
MON  TRAIN    OF    AFFAIRS   OCCURRING   IN  LIFE  doCS  it 

follow  from  hence  that  we  must  of  necessity  fill  it  with 
fictions?  with  wind?  with  a  "splendid  order  of  things" 
less  real,  less  substantial,  than  the  shadow  of  a  shade? 
For  what  are  all  novels,  according  to  Lord  Bacon's 
account,  but  nothingness  in  the  abstract;  mere  creations 
of  the  brain;  above  real  life  and  manners,  that  they  may 
Jill  the  poor  soul,  which,  it  seems,  cannot  otherwise  be 
filled  by  any  thing  beneath  the  sun.  But  what  sort  of 
philosophy  is  that  which  has  recourse  to  such  methods 
as  this,  in  order  to  fill  and  satisfy  the  mind?  If  the 
theatre  of  life  is  too  narrow,  and  its  objects  are  found 
too  little,  for  the  soul,  so  that  the  passions  want  more 
room,  and  greater  objects,  to  afford  them  more  ample 
entertainment  and  bliss,  rather  than  speak  of  novels  as 
they  do,  would  it  not  have  been  much  more  rational  in 
his  Lordship  as  a  philosopher,  and  more  amiable  and 
consistent  in  Blair  as  a  divine,  to  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  soul  of  man  was  made  for  God,  for  the 
knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  the  Deity  himself,  and  that 
vanity  has  been  purposely  written  on  all  other  things, 
that  the  soul  might  sicken  in  their  full  enjoyment,  and 
be  induced  to  seek  her  solace  in  God.' 

After  all,  however,  the  question  will  still  recur, 
whether  the  soul,  even  with  the  aid  of  fiction,  is  satis- 
fied,  and  at  rest?  and  to  this  question  ten  thousand 


40 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


bosoms  answer,  No!  The  passions  of  man  open  to 
the  world,  and  the  world  sails  in,  and  yet  the  harbor 
is  not  full.  We  go  to  work,  and  create  new  worlds 
out  of  nothing;  and  these  too  float  at  random  in  the 
soul,  and  leave  abundant  room  for  more.  These  are 
facts,  and  facts  too  which  it  would  be  vanity  even  to 
attempt  to  deny.  Philosophy  sees  them,  but  can  fur- 
nish no  remedy.  Divinity  sees  them,  and  brings  the 
remedy  too.  Philosophy  and  divinity  go  hand  in  hand 
in  such  inquiries  as  these,  up  to  a  certain  point,  where 
they  part  asunder,  the  one  from  the  other,  when  phi- 
losophy is  left  in  the  valley  below  amid  fancied  creations 
and  ever-varying  visionary  forms.  In  the  mean  while 
divinity,  in  spotless  robes  of  white,  beckoning  us  to 
follow,  conducts  us  to  the  summit  of  Revelation,  and 
from  that  sacred  eminence  points  out,  not  a  "land  of 
apparitions,"  and  "empty  shades,"  but  the  empire  of 
the  Deity,  vast  in  wisdom,  justice,  mercy;  vast  in  truth 
and  in  love;  in  power,  glory,  and  grace:  so  that  adoring 
angels  are  lost  amidst  the  amazing  variety  and  incon- 
ceivable greatness  of  those  themes  of  wonder  which 
rise  in  endless  succession  to  their  view.  And  while  she 
continues  to  point  out  these  glorious  realities,  in  lan- 
guage mild  as  the  breath  of  spring,  and  refreshing  as 
the  gentlest  rains,  or  early  dews  of  the  morning,  she 
continues  and  concludes  her  heavenly  converse  thus: — 
"The  soul  of  man  was  made  for  God,  and  nothing  but 
God  can  satisfy  its  vast  immortal  powers! — But  'he  will 
cause  those  that  love  him  to  inherit  substance;  yea 
they  shall  be  filled  with  his  fulness,^  and  conducted  to 
PEACE  and  everlasting  rest." 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


41 


Now,  to  attempt,  with  some  ancient  philosophers,  to 
root  up  the  passions,  is  vain.  They  are  deathless  as  the 
spirit  to  which  they  belong;  nor  can  their  ardor  be 
diminished.  Sanctification  is  not  intended  to  quench 
their  native  lustre  or  force,  but  to  put  out  those  unhal- 
lowed fires  with  which  they  have  been  made  to  burn, 
and  then  light  them  afresh  at  the  altar  of  God.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  sanctification  proceeds  in  the  soul,  this 
object  is  more  and  more  attained.  We  have  growing 
discoveries  of  the  mysteries  of  Christ.  We  have  clearer 
views  of  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and  of  his  ability  and 
willingness  to  save  apostate  man.  The  curtains  of  time 
are  more  and  more  withdrawn,  and  we  have  widening 
and  brightening  views  both  of  the  future  and  final  state 
of  man, — the  future  and  final  state  both  of  the  wicked 
and  the  just.  And  while  these  things  are  more  and  more 
unfolded,  all  the  passions — wonder,  love,  desire,  hope,  joy; 
and  their  opposites — hatred,  aversion,  fear,  sorrow,  and 
the  like,  are  roused  into  holy  activity,  and  acquire  addi- 
tional strength  from  day  to  day.  Fix,  then,  these  pas- 
sions upon  their  proper  objects, — fix  love,  desire,  hope, 
joy,  and  the  like,  on  God  and  religion,  and  let  hatred, 
aversion,  fear,  anger,  and  the  like,  settle  upon  sin,  of 
every  kind,  and  then  raise  these  passions,  by  holy  exer- 
cises, by  prayer,  reading,  meditation,  and  the  like,  to 
their  highest  possible  strength  and  vigor,  and  keep  them 
in  this  state,  and  you  have  a  soul  entirely  sanctified  to 
God.  The  Deity  requires  nothing  more  than  this, 
(Matt,  xxii,  87 — 40,)  and  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less.  (1  Cor.  xvi,  22.) 
5 


42 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


Having  considered  the  sanctification  of  the  soul,  I 
come  now  to  the  bodj',  which  also  requires  the  opera- 
tion of  grace. 

It  is  melancholy  to  reflect  how  the  whole  man,  body 
as  well  as  soul,  has  been  brought  under  sin.  So  that 
sin  is  said  to  reign  in  our  bodies,  and  our  members  are 
considered  as  the  very  slaves  of  sin!  (Rom.  vi.)  Ac- 
cordingly, if  the  passions,  to  borrow  the  words  of  Sir 
Matthew  Hale  concerning  them,  "like  the  furies  that 
were  let  loose  out  of  Pandora's  box,  do  raise  most  of 
the  storms  and  tempests  that  are  abroad  in  the  world," 
sensual  indulgence,  acting  in  concert  with  the  passions, 
supplies  the  rest.  I  say  sensual  indulgence,  because  all 
the  sins  or  "filthiness  of  the  flesh"  may  be  resolved 
into  the  unlawful  indulgence  of  one  or  other  of  the 
bodily  senses.  Grand,  gay,  or  beautiful  objects,  for 
example,  please  the  eye;  music,  the  ear;  perfumeries  or 
fragrance,  the  smell;  food  and  liquor,  the  taste;  and,  in 
like  manner,  the  sense  of  feeling,  which  is  extended, 
more  or  less,  through  the  whole  animal  frame,  finds 
pleasure  in  other  objects,  and  is  capable  of  being  grati- 
fied in  a  considerable  variety  of  ways.  Sins  of  the  flesh, 
or  sensuality,  we  may  repeat,  consist,  in  the  unlawful 
gratification  of  any  one  of  these  senses;  and  gratification 
may  be  unlawful  absolutely,  or  by  excess.  Thus  a  man, 
if  unmarried,  must  not  touch  a  woman;  nor,  when  mar- 
ried, take  inordinate  liberties  with  his  wife.  These 
remarks,  of  course,  are  as  applicable  to  the  woman  as  to 
the  man.  And  they  are  applicable  also  to  various  other 
things. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


43 


The  sins  of  eating  and  drinking,  or  the  unlawful  grati- 
fication of  the  taste,  and  those  also  of  the  eye  and  the 
ear,  are,  generally,  by  excess;  for  the  excessive  indulg- 
ence of  any  of  the  senses,  the  eye,  or  the  ear,  for 
example,  in  too  great  a  fondness  for  music  or  fine  sights, 
must  be  placed  upon  a  par  with  drunkenness,  since  it 
differs  tVom  it  in  nothing  but  this,  that  it  is  the  excessive 
indulgence  of  a  different  bodily  sense.  So  that  the  sot 
in  music,  in  fine  paintings,  and  the  like,  is  just  as  comely 
a  sight  in  the  eyes  of  the  Deity,  and  entitled  to  the 
same  honor,  as  the  sot  at  the  sumptuous  table,  or  he  who 
struggles  with  delight  in  draining  the  midnight  bowl. 
It  is  sensual  gratification,  sensual  indulgence,  sensual 
delight,  in  both  cases;  and  whenever  we  indulge  the 
senses  to  excess,  so  far  as  we  do  it,  we  sin  against  Heaven. 

But  sanctification  preserves  us  from  this.  It  pro- 
duces a  change  in  the  bodies  of  men,  as  well  as  in  the  ~ 
soul;  changing  its  sensual  appetites  and  desires,  and 
keeping  them  within  bounds;  so  that  the  epicurean  zest 
of  the  glutton  gives  place  to  a  relish  for  homelier  fare. 
I  say,  a  relish,  because  I  suppose  God  produces  a  real 
change  in  our  bodily  constitution  in  regard  to  these 
things,  and  not  that  the  practice  of  this  temperance  will 
be  irksome  to  nature  after  the  change  shall  once  be  fully 
accomplished  in  us,  but,  on  the  contrary,  natural  and 
easy  and  pleasant  as  indulgence  was  before.  So  that  if, 
when  in  this  state,  we  should  occasionally  have  the 
richer  delicacies  of  food  set  before  us,  and  should  be 
disposed  to  taste  them,  which  God  does  not  forbid,  the 
taste  will  be  restricted  and  temperate,  and  God  will  be 
glorified  iu  these  his  gifts  to  man.    In  like  manner  will 


44 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


the  gratification  of  the  other  senses  be  regulated;  the 
eye  in  seeing,  and  the  ear  in  hearing;  so  that  none  of 
them  will  be  indulged  to  excess,  or  for  any  other  purpose 
than  that  which  would  lead  a  pious  and  good  man  to 
make  prayer  to  God.  And  as  these  remarks,  which  are 
now  before  the  reader,  will  give  an  idea  of  what  1  am 
led  to  consider  a  sanctified  state  of  the  body,  to  add  to 
them  would  be  frivolous  and  vain.  I  shall,  therefore, 
conclude  this  chapter  with  this  general  observation,  that 
the  sanctification  of  the  body  is  entire,  not  when  we 
cease  from  actual  indulgence,  but  when  the  propensity 
to  such  indulgence  is  removed,  and  God  by  his  Spirit 
witnesses  that  sin  is  all  destroyed.  So  much  for  the 
nature  an^  extent  of  this  great  work  of  God. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


45 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GOD   VVILLETH   OUR  ENTIRE  SANCTIFIC ATION. 

That  God  willeth  our  entire  sanctification,  must  ap- 
pear from  the  nature  of  God,  the  doctrines,  |)romises, 
precepts,  and  prayers  in  the  Bible,  which  relate  to  it, 
and  likewise  from  the  design  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel. 

First.  The  nature  of  God  is  proof  that  he  must  desire 
and  will  the  entire  sanctification  of  man.  God  is  holy. 
Sin  is  abhorrent  to  his  nature  and  essence;  he  cannot 
look  thereon  but  with  anger  and  disgust.  It  is  in  the 
very  nature  of  our  earthly  fathers  to  wish  their  offspring 
to  resemble  themselves;  and  in  God,  the  Great  Parent 
of  all,  to  wish  his  children  to  be  like  their  heavenly 
Father  in  this  respect,  namely,  a  freedom  from  every  spot 
and  wrinkle  of  sin,  and  full  of  goodness,  righteousness, 
and  truth. 

Secondly.  The  doctrines  of  the  Bible  proves  the  same 
thing.  The  following  passage  is  very  express.  "For 
this  is  the  will  of  God  even  your  sanctification."  It  is 
the  will  of  God.  And  if  we  wish  to  know  the  extent 
of  that  sanctification  it  is  the  will  of  God  we  should 
possess,  the  following  words  will  explain  it.  "Christ 
also  loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,  that  he 
might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water 
by  the  word;  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glo- 


46 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


rious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
-  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish." 
The  design  of  Jesus,  in  giving  himself  up  to  death,  is 
so  clearly  and  fully  expressed  in  these  words,  as  to  render 
it  impossible  for  a  candid,  generous,  and  unprejudiced 
mind  not  to  perceive  it.  He  bled,  not  only  to  pardon, 
but  to  cleanse  us;  to  open  a  fountain  for  all  uncleanness; 
to  purge  away  every  spot  and  stain  and  soil  of  sin,  both 
from  the  body  and  soul  of  his  saints,  so  as  not  to  leave 
the  slightest  tarnish  of  it  behind.  The  same  doctrine 
is  contained  in  other  portions  of  the  Oracles  of  Truth; 
in  such  texts,  for  example,  as  these,  "Wherefore  Jesus 
also,  that  he  might  sanctify  his  people  with  his  own 
blood,  suffered  without  the  gate."  "If  we  walk  in  the 
light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with 
another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin."  The  former  of  these  texts  shows  the 
design  of  the  Redeemer's  sufferings,  and  the  latter  the 
extent  of  that  design,  in  a  very  clear  and  satisfactory 
way.  It  is  their  entire  sanctification;  the  removal  of  all 
sin  from  the  body  and  from  the  soul  too. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  profitable  to  the  reader,  if  I  men- 
tion one  or  two  more  passages  which  relate  to  this  point. 
The  first  is  the  language  of  Christ  when  praying  for  his 
disciples.  "And  for  their  sakes,"  says  he,  "1  snnctify 
myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified  through  thy 
truth."  In  the  margin  it  is  truly  sanctified.  So  that 
the  design  of  Jesus  in  devoting  himself  to  those  unpar- 
alleled sufferings  which  he  endured  in  the  garden  and 
on  the  cross  for  us,  as  spoken  of  here,  appears  to  be 
jiist  the  same  as  that  spoken  of  above.  To  the  same 
effect  also  are  those  words  of  St.  Paul  in  his  epistle  to 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


47 


Titus.  "The  great  God  and  our  Saviour,"  says  he, 
"gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works."  So  that  as  far  as  these  clear 
and  undoubted  doctrines  of  the  Bible  go  in  this  matter, 
there  is  no  uncertain  sound  of  the  trumpet  but  a  loud 
call  to  duty,  arising  from  the  clearness  and  strength  of 
proof  which  they  contain,  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  we 
should  be  fully  and  for  ever  saved  from  all  sin. 

Thirdly.  Some  of  the  promises  of  God  may  now  be 
examined,  as  they  perfectly  accord  with  his  doctrines 
concerning  this  point.  The  first  promise  I  shall  notice 
is  that  great  promise  made  by  the  Deity  to  the  venerable 
Abraham,  which  indeed  seems  more  than  a  promise;  it 
is  a  covenant,  confirmed  by  the  oath  of  the  Deity,  "that 
by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  was  impossible  for 
God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who 
have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before 
us."  So  that  if  this  promise  or  covenant  should  be 
found  to  contain  a  pledge,  on  the  part  of  God,  to  deliver 
us  from  sin,  and  sanctify  us  wholly  and  entirely,  it  will 
be  a  firm  foundation  and  hope  to  those  who  are  ardently 
longing  for  this  blessing  and  grace.  And  that  it  does 
contain  such  a  pledge,  nay,  that  such  a  pledge  is  the 
very  kernel,  the  core,  the  heart  and  soul  of  that  promise, 
the  following  remarks,  it  is  hoped,  will  show. 

In  the  whole  of  this  covenant,  God  engages  to  do  for 
Abraham,  at  least,  the  following  things:  he  engages  to 
give  him  the  land  of  Canaan,  a  numerous  posterity,  to 
raise  up  Christ  from  among  his  descendants,  and  wholly 
to  sanctify  him  and  his  spiritual  seed;  the  first  was  be- 
stowed for  the  sake  of  the  second,  the  second  for  the 


4B  A  PHACTIOAL  ESSAY  ON 

third,  and  the  third,  or  Christ  Jesus,  for  the  sake  of  the 
fourth,  or  entire  sanctification.  That  this  is  the  true 
state  of  the  case,  will  appear  from  a  comparison  of 
Genesis  (chap,  xii.)  with  a  statement  we  find  in  the 
Gospel  by  St.  Luke,  (chap,  i,  67 — 75.)  This  latter 
passage  I  will  give  at  full  length,  that  the  reader  may 
notice  it  at  once,  with  suitable  care.  It  is  the  language 
of  Zacharias,  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  who,  being 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  prophesied  concerning  Christ  in 
the  following  words:  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel;  for  he  hath  visited  and  redeemed  his  people;  and 
hath  raised  up  an  horn  of  salvation  for  us  in  the  house 
of  his  servant  David;  as  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his 
holy  prophets  which  have  been  since  the  world  began; 
that  we  should  be  saved  from  our  enemies,  and  from  the 
hands  of  all  that  hate  us;  to  perform  the  mercy  pro- 
mised to  our  fathers,  and  to  remember  his  holy  covenant; 
the  oath  which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham,  that  he 
would  grant  unto  us,  that  we,  being  delivered  out  of  the  * 
hand  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  him  without  fear,  in 
holiness  and  righteousness  before  him  all  the  days  of 
our  life."  .Now,  from  this  remarkable  passage,  it  does 
manifestly  appear,  1.  That  such  a  deliverance  from 
all  sin,  and  from  Satan,  the  chief  hater  and  enemy  of 
man,  as  will  enable  us  to  serve  God  without  fear,  in 
holiness  and  righteousness  before  God,  and  that  all  the 
days  of  our  life,  was  promised  to  Abraham,  and  to  all 
his  spiritual  seed.  2.  This  deliverance  from  sin  is,  in 
some  sense,  the  principal  and  ultimate  thing  promised. 
Even  Christ,  "the  horn  of  salvation,"  was  promised  in 
order  to  this;  promised,  that  we  should  be  saved,  &c.; 
and  as  for  heaven  itself,  that  will  follow  our  entire  sane- 


ENTinE  SANCTIFICATION. 


49 


tification  as  a  natural  and  necessary  consequence;  as  a 
just  and  suitable  appendage  to  the  full  image  of  God 
restored  to  the  soul  of  fallen  apostate  man.  3.  This 
covenant,  or  promise,  is,  in  fact,  the  on'ly  promise  which 
had  been  in  the  mouth  of  all  the  holy  prophets  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world;  all  other  promises,  of  what- 
ever kind,  and  however  made  known  or  expressed,  being 
but  parts  or  appendages  of  this,  growing  out  of  it  as 
branches  out  of  the  tree,  or  flowing  into  it  as  rivers  into 
their  sea.  So  that,  unless  we  have  greatly  mistaken  the 
whole  of  this  aflair,  entire  holiness  of  heart  is  the  spi- 
ritual birthright  of  all  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham, 
and  as  freely  to  be  enjoyed  as  the  air  they  breathe  from 
day  to  day- 
After  what  has  been  said,  there  scarcely  appears  any 
need  that  more  should  be  advanced  on  the  subject  of  the 
promises  of  the  blessing  in  question.  Nevertheless,  if 
more  will  be  useful  to  the  reader,  more  is  at  hand;  the 
branches  of  this  blooming  "tree  of  life"  stretch  them- 
selves out  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  sacred 
page,  and  oflTer  their  leaves,  which  are  for  the  healing 
of  the  nations,  to  all  that  stand  beneath  its  ample  shade. 
Let  the  reader  examine  the  following,  and  by  faith  re- 
ceive their  virtue  into  his  needy,  sin-sick  soul.  "And 
he,"  Jehovah,  "shall  redeem  Israel  from  all  his  iniqui- 
ties." "Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and 
ye  shall  be  clean:  from  all  your  fiithiness,  and  from  all 
your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will  I 
give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you;  and  I 
will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and 
will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  also  save 
you  from  all  your  uncleannesses."  From  the  New  Testa- 


50 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


ment  I  will  just  mention  the  following:  "And  ye  shall 
know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 
"Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it." 
"Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full.'' 
"Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness;  for  they  shall  be  filled."  These  promises, 
though  but  a  very  small  portion  of  this  class  of  promises, 
and  if  we  were  to  consider  them  as  separate  and  inde- 
pendent promises,  having  no  connexion  with  that  great 
covenant  promise  which  God  made  to  Abraham  and  to 
his  seed,  are  quite  sufficient  to  establisii  the  point  in 
question;  namely,  that  God  willeth  our  entire  sanctifica- 
tion;  for,  as  long  as  words  have  meaning,  these  passages 
must  be  understood  of  an  entire  deliverance  from  sin, 
inward  as  well  as  outward,  and  of  a  fulness  of  righteous- 
ness brought  into  the  soul  by  the  Spirit  and  grace  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Vourthly.  The  precepts  of  the  Gospel  also  may  very 
properly  be  noticed,  as  containing  proof  of  the  same 
thing;  as  where  it  is  said,  "I  am  the  Lord  your  God: 
ye  shall  therefore  sanctify  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be 
holy."  "Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  "Make  the  tree  good, 
and  his  fruit  good."  "Put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond 
of  perfectness."  "Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work, 
that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing." 
We  need  not  add  to  the  number  of  these  precepts,  nor 
hold  up  a  light  to  the  sun  by  attempting  to  explain 
them.  And  it  avails  nothing  to  say,  in  order  to  lessen 
the  force,  and  fritter  away  the  meaning  of  these  pre- 
cepts, that  man  is  a  weak,  frail  creature,  and  surrounded 
with  temptations  and  snares  on  every  hand;  so  that  a 


ENTIRE  SANCTIPICATION. 


51 


kind  and  compassionate  Being,  whose  yoke  is  easy  and 
whose  burden  is  light,  must  have  given  him  these  pre- 
cepts rather  with  the  hope  and  design  that  he  should  do 
what  he  can  towards  fulfilling  them,  than  with  the  ex- 
pectation or  wish  that  he  should  reach  them  in  all  their 
dimensions:  for  God,  wlio  gave  them,  knew  what 
strength  we  should  need,  and  what  he  would  afford;  and 
one,  having  made  the  experiment,  comes  forward  to 
say  in  the  face  of  these  objectors,  "I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  who  strengthetieth  me."  And  it  is  no 
very  honorable  reflection  on  the  Deity  to  suppose  that  he 
would,  or  could,  give  precepts  to  his  creatures  which  he 
knew  they  could  not,  and  which  he  did  not  desire  them 
to  perform.  So  that  the  existence  of  such  precepts  as 
those  we  have  mentioned  above,  carries  with  it  a  strong 
and  irresistible  proof  that  the  will  of  the  Deity  is,  our 
entire  deliverance  from  sin,  and  our  full  and  perpetual 
dedication  to  God. 

Fifthly.  The  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  this  blessing,  prove  it  is  a  blessing  which  the 
saints  should  enjoy;  for  it  would  involve  very  perplexing 
considerations  to  suppose  they  could  pray,  as  they  do, 
for  what  none  can  enjoy  during  this  present  life.  David 
had  no  hope  of  converting  sinners  in  the  grave.  Yet 
he  solicits  this  blessing,  that  he  might  the  better  he 
able  to  teach  them  the  truth,  and  convert  and  bring 
them  savingly  to  God.  "Wash  me  thoroughly  from 
mine  iniquity,"  says  he,  "and  cleanse  me  from  my  sin. 
Purge  me  with  hyssup,  and  I  shall  be  clean;  wiish  me, 
and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow.  Create  in  me  a  clean 
heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me. 
TTien  shall  I  teach  transgressors  thy  law,  and  sinners 


52 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


shall  be  converted  unto  thee."  (Psal.  U.)  To  the  same 
effect  is  the  prayer  of  St.  Paul  for  the  church  at  Thes- 
salonica,  contained  in  these  words:  "And  the  very  God 
of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly;"  (that  is,  says  the  Rev'd 
Jos.  Benson,  ^every  part  of  you,  and  every  part  per- 
fectly. (See  his  Com.  in  loc.)  The  Apostle  then  pro- 
ceeds, "And  I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and 
body  be  preserved  blameless"  (after  they  have  been 
made  so)  "unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
(1  Thess.  v,  2.3.)  As  tiiis  passage  is  striking  and  clear 
in  marking  the  extent  of  sanctification,  so  it  is  likewise 
in  specifying  the  time  when  it  ought  to  be  enjoyed. 
The  Christian  must  have  it  in  this  present  life;  for  to 
talk  of  the  spirit,  soul,  and  body  being  "preserved  blame- 
less" after  death,  would  involve  absurdities  too  gross  for 
refutation.  We  may  notice  also  the  prayer  of  Epaphras 
for  the  Colossians,  who  fervently  desired  and  prayed 
that  they  might  "stand  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the 
will  of  God."  (Col.  iv,  12.) 

But  while  on  this  subject,  I  must  not  forget  the  prayer 
of  the  Redeemer  for  his  own  immediate  disciples  while 
on  earth.  It  is  evident,  from  John  xv,  .3,  that  they  were 
sanctified  in  part  at  the  time  the  petition  in  question 
was  offered  up;  so  that  when  the  Redeemer  (chap,  xvii, 
17)  solemnly  requested  the  Father  to  "sanctify  them 
through  his  truth,"  &c.,  it  is  clear  their  entire  sanctifi- 
cation was  the  subject  of  his  request.  But  if  this  is  not 
sufficient  to  banish  all  doubt  from  the  mind  of  the 
reader  concerning  this  point,  the  context  must  surely 
produce  the  effect.  "Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone," 
says  he,  "but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word;  that  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


53 


Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us. — /  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
made  perfect  in  one,"  being  filled  with  tlie  fulness 
of  the  Father  and  of  Christ!  Is  it  possible  to  con- 
ceive an^  language  more  expressive  of  that  full,  abso* 
lute,  complete,  or  entire  sanctification,  described  in  a 
former  part  of  this  work,  than  this  language  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ? 

Sixthly.  Although  enough  has  been  said  already  to 
establish  the  question  before  us,  it  must  not  be  dismissed 
entirely  until  a  word  or  two  have  been  said  on  the  de- 
sign of  the  Gospel  ministry,  as  laid  down  in  the  Oracles 
of  God.  By  the  Gospel  ministry  I  mean,  not  preaching 
only,  but  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  also,  and 
the  pastoral  duties  in  general.  Now,  the  great  end  or 
design  of  this  ministry  cannot  be  better  expressed  than 
in  the  language  of  the  Apostle  when  writing  to  fhe 
Ephesians.  To  these  Christians  he  says,  that  when  the 
Saviour  "ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive, 
and  gave  gifts  to  men.  And  he  gave  some,  apostles, 
and  some,  prophets,  &c.,  for  the  perfecting  of  liie  saints, 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ:  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith, 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect 
man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ."  Here  we  perceive,  that  all  the  gifts  and  talents 
of  apostles,  prophets,  pastors,  teachers,  and  the  like> 
are  intended  to  accomplish  the  same  thing  in  the  church, 
namely,  such  an  increase  of  piety,  or  such  a  proper, 
full,  and  just  proportion  of  faith,  hope,  love,  gentleness, 
goodness,  and  all  and  every  other  grace  of  the  Spirit, 
in  everv  member  of  the  body  of  Christ,  as  shall  cause 
6 


64 


A   PBACnCAL  ESSAY  ON 


them  to  resemble  a  comely  and  well-proportioned  human 
frame;  this  being  manifestly  intended  by  the  words  per- 
fect man,  and  the  fulness  of  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  Christ.  For  although  the  passage  may  take  in  the 
increase  of  the  church  by  an  accession  of  members,  till 
it  shall  fill  the  boundaries  of  the  world,  and  in  that  sense 
come  up  to  the  fulness  of  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
Christ,  or  to  the  fulness  of  his  intention  or  design  with 
respect  to  the  increase  of  the  church  on  earth,  yet  this 
cannot  possibly  be  the  full  meaning  of  the  Apostle,  who 
manifestly  is  speaking  of  such  growth  and  improvement 
in  the  church  as  "maketh  increase  of  the  body  to  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love"  and  a  growing  up  "into  Him 
in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ;"  so  that 
the  meaning  of  the  passage  cannot  be  confined  to  any 
mere  numerical  increase  of  the  church,  without  mani- 
fest impropriety,  but  must  take  in  ail  that  personal  piety 
and  grace  which  it  is  the  design  of  my  present  under- 
taking to  recommend. 

If  then  the  nature  of  God  is  to  be  regarded  in  this 
argument;  if  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  to  be  be- 
lieved; if  the  promises  are  to  be  respected  and  relied 
upon,  or  the  covenant  and  oath  of  God  trusted  in;  if 
the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  of  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
do  not  lead  us  astray  into  the  wilderness  of  error  and 
death;  and  if  the  gracious  design  of  the  gospel  ministry, 
as  contained  in  the  passage  we  have  cited  above,  is  to  be 
regarded  at  all,  or  expected  to  take  place:  if  these  things 
are  not  all  a  fallacy,  a  dream,  a  mere  nothing,  and  a  lie; 
then  ought  the  saints  to  awake  from  their  slumber,  and 
arise,  for  the  great  God  of  heaven  and  of  earth  willeth 
them  to  be,  even  while  passing  through  life,  delivered 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


55 


from  the  last  remains  of  sin,  and  entirely  devoted  to  the 
glory  of  God.  Reflect,  reader,  upon  these  things,  and 
may  the  Holy  Spirit  so  apply  them  with  power  to  thy 
mind,  as  to  cause  thee  to  awake  up  to  duty  and  dili- 
gence, and  never,  never,  rest  again,  till  in  the  full  and 
happy  enjoyment  of  purity  of  heart. 


56 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   PROCESS   OF  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION,  AND  ON  THE 
TIME  IT  REQUIRES. 

As  a  diversity  of  opinion  exists  concerning  the  pro- 
cess of  entire  sanctification,  some  supposing  it  to  be  not 
only  gradual,  but  very  slow  and  tedious,  and  others  sup- 
posing it  to  be  effected  more  rapidly,  if  not  in  a  moment 
of  time,  it  will  be  proper  to  turn  our  attention  unto  it, 
and  examine  it  with  candor,  diligence,  and  care. 

In  doing  this,  it  is  pleasing  to  find  that  our  opinions 
concerning  it  do  not  depend  on  the  varying  nature  of 
mere  words  and  phrases,  the  meaning  of  which,  by  the 
mere  lapse  of  time,  will  often  be  rendered  dull  and  ob- 
scure, but  on  the  fixed  and  unalterable  nature  of  things; 
for  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  truth,  has 
thought  fit,  in  explaining  to  our  minds  the  nature  of 
the  process  in  question,  to  employ  such  tilings  as  are 
unchangeable  in  their  nature,  and  which,  therefore, 
must  furnish  the  same  ideas  concerning  it  to  the  latest 
posterity.  Want  of  room  will  not  allow  me  to  furnish 
a  multitude  of  examples  of  this  mode  of  illustration. 
But  we  may  just  notice  a  few,  which  will  serve  as  a 
specimen  of  the  rest,  and  excite  the  reader,  perhaps,  to 
investigate  the  subject  as  the  greatness  of  its  import- 
ance appears  to  demand. 


ENTIRE  9ANCTIFICATI0N. 


57 


First.  The  process  of  entire  sanctification  is  some- 
times represented  by  the  process  of  creation,  as  in  the 
following  words  of  St.  Paul:  "We  are  his  workmanship, 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,"  &c.  "Put 
on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  right-  " 
eousness  and  true  holiness."  "For  ia  Christ  Jesus 
neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircum- 
cision,  but  a  new  creature."  "If  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature:  old  things  are  passed  away;  be- 
hold, all  things  are  become  new."  That  these  texts  of 
Scripture,  when  taken  in  their  full  sense,  comprehend 
the  entire  work  of  sanctification,  will  admit  of  no  doubt; 
and  it  is  equally  clear  they  compare  the  process  of  that 
work  in  man  to  the  process  of  creation.  The  only 
difficulty  in  the  case  appears  to  be  this,  whether  the 
creation  of  the  world  is  alluded  to,  which  was  six  days 
in  continuance  from  beginning  to  end,  or  the  creation  of 
Adam  only,  which  took  up  a  much  smaller  portion  of 
time.  But  to  whichever  of  these  we  suppose  the  Apostle 
to  refer,  the  consequence  will  be,  that  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  our  entire  renovation  need  not  be  long;  six  days 
is  the  utmost  that  can  be  allowed  for  its  necessary  con- 
tinuance; but  if  Adam's  creation  is  referred  to  as  a 
sample  of  that  which  I  am  wisliful  to  explain,  the  time 
to  be  allowed  for  its  necessary  continuance  must  not 
exceed  the  limits  of  a  day. 

Secondly.  The  process  of  mortification  in  the  mem-  — 
bers  of  the  human  body  is  likewise  employed  to  illus- 
trate the  process  of  entire  sanctification,  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing, and  other  passages  also,  of  a  similar  kind: — 
"Mortify  your  members  which  are  upon  the  earth." 
"If  ye,  through  the  Spirit,  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the 
6* 


58 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


body,  ye  shall  live."  And,  as  in  the  foregoing  exam- 
ples, the  process  of  entire  sanctification  appeared  to  be 
gradual,  but  not  long;  so  also  in  this:  for,  let  the  process 
of  mortification  be  fairly  begun  in  any  member  or  part 
of  the  human  system,  and  let  it  be  suffered  to  go  for- 
ward without  any  attempt  to  arrest  its  career,  and  it  will 
soon  lay  its  victim  prostrate  in  the  dust.  The  applica- 
tion of  these  remarks  is  natural  and  easy.  Let  grace 
have  its  course  in  our  nature.  Let  its  sanctifying  pro- 
cess go  forward,  and  it  will  quickly  "mortify  the  deeds 
of  the  body,"  and  kill  every  symptom  of  sin  in  the  soul. 

Thirdly.  The  process  of  death  by  crucifixion  is  some- 
times alluded  to  just  in  the  same  way.  "Our  old  man," 
says  St.  Paul,  "is  crucified  with  Christ,  that  the  body 
of  sin  might  be  destroyed."  Mr.  Benson  observes,  in 
his  note  upon  this  passage,  that  our  old  man  is  a  strong 
and  beautiful  expression  for  that  entire  depravity  and 
corruption,  which  by  nature  spreads  itself  over  the  whole 
man,  leaving  no  part  uninfected.  This,  he  proceeds  to 
observe,  in  a  genuine  believer,  is  crucijied  toilh  Christ, 
being  gradually  killed  by  virtue  of  our  union  with  him; 
the  remembrance  and  consideration  of  his  cross  co- 
operating in  a  most  powerful  manner,  with  all  the  other 
motives  which  the  Gospel  suggests,  to  destroy  our  cor- 
rupt passions  and  former  sinful  habits — that,  the  body  of 
sin — the  body  belonging  to  sin,  including  sinful  tempers, 
words,  and  works — jnight  be  destroyed — utterly  and  for 
ever.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  upon  this  passage, 
Mr.  Benson  observes,  that  the  Apostle  "personifies  sin 
after  the  custom  of  animated  writers,  who,  to  make 
their  discourse  lively  and  aflecting,  speak  of  the  virtues 
and  vices  of  which  they  treat  as  so  many  persons;  and 


ENTIKE  SANCTIFICATION. 


59 


that  our  "corrupt  passions  and  evil  actions  are  the  mem- 
bers of  the  old  man,"  who,  it  seems  by  crucifixion,  is 
to  be  so  utterly  and  for  ever  destroyed.  Now,  what  I 
desire  the  reader  more  especially  to  notice  is  this, 
namely,  the  time  necessary  for  this  utter  destruction, 
according  to  the  representation  of  the  text.  And  as 
this  must  be  drawn  from  the  time  which  was  occupied 
by  the  crucifixion  of  Ciirist,  a  few  hours  for  the  whole 
process  is  all  we  can  concede,  as  being  strictly  necessary 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  work.  And  surely  God 
can  destroy  sin  in  the  soul  of  his  saints  as  soon  as  sin 
could  inflict  death  on  the  soul  and  body  of  his  Son. 

Fourthly.  The  cleansing  of  lepers  seems  referred  to 
in  the  Scriptures  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the 
same  important  point,  as  the  reader  will  perceive  in  the 
following  words: — "Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall 
be  clean."  "And  I  will  cleanse  their  blood  which  I 
have  not  cleansed."  "If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  ia 
faithful  and  just  to — cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteous- 
ness;" and  the  like.  And  probably  also,  when  Christ 
Jesus,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  "cleansed  the  lepers," 
those  astonishing  miracles  were  intended  to  be,  not  only 
proofs  of  his  ability  to  cleanse  us  from  sin,  but  figures, 
also,  and  visible  representations  of  it,  and  likewise  also 
of  the  time  and  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be  done. 
So  that  we  may  properly  detain  the  reader  for  a  moment 
on  this  interesting  point. 

Now,  cv'jncerning  the  leper  and  his  cleansing,  we  may 
observe  as  follows:  1.  The  leprosy  spoken  of  in  the 
Scriptures  was  a  most  foul  and  filthy  disease,  consti- 
tuting him  that  had  it  unclean,  and  unfit  to  mingle  with 
society,  and  the  like.   (See  Lev.  xiii.)    2.  It  was  quite 


60 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


incurable  by  any  human  means.  3.  When,  therefore,  a 
leper  was  cured,  it  was  by  a  special  interposition  of 
God;  it  was  altogetlier  a  miracle;  and  it  was  generally, 
if  not  always,  eflected  in  a  moment.  All  the  cases 
we  read  of  in  the  Scriptures,  as  the  case  of  Miriam, 
(Num.  xii,)  of  Naanian,  (2  Kings  v,  14,)  and  of  the 
leper  cured  by  Christ,  (\latt.  viii,  3,)  and  the  like,  go 
fully  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  remark.  4.  If,  therefore, 
the  cases  of  leprosy  were  emblems  of  sin,  and  the 
cleansing  of  lepers  an  emblem  of  the  removal  of  sin, 
the  sudden  removal  of  the  one  very  naturally  suggests 
the  removal  of  the  other  in  as  sudden  and  instantaneous 
a  way;  otherwise  the  parallel  is  not  good,  and  the  illus- 
tration, by  this  figure,  not  clear  and  bright.  That  which 
is  called  "the  cleansing  of  the  leper"  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, (Lev.  xiv,)  and  wliich  consisted  in  the  perform- 
ance of  particular  rites  and  ceremonies,  was  not,  pro- 
perly, the  cleansing  of  the  leper,  or  removal  of  his 
leprosy  away;  fur  the  leprosy  was  removed  before  those 
rites  were  so  much  as  begun;  it  was  the  peculiar  manner 
or  form  in  which  the  leper,  after  he  was  cleansed,  was 
restored  to  the  society  of  the  people,  from  which  his 
infectious  disease  had  driven  him  away.  And  this  may 
correspond  with  that  newness  of  life,  or  fresh  dedica- 
tion of  body  and  soul  to  God,  which  must  ever  succeed 
the  total  removal  of  indwelling  sin.  But  if  we  should 
also  take  this  into  our  account,  and  consider  it  as  part, 
that  is,  the  completion  or  finishing,  of  the  entire  pro- 
cess, and  as  actually  removing  the  lingering  traces  of 
leprosy  from  the  leper,  even  in  this  view  of  the  case^ 
the  whole  process  was  short,  and  furnishes  no  proof  that 
the  process  of  entire  sanctification  must  of  necessity  be 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


61 


protracted,  and  extend  through  a  considerable  portion 
of  time.  I  am  inclined,  however,  to  think,  that  the 
cleansing  of  the  leper  by  Christ  (Matt,  viii,  3)  ought  to 
be  specially  regarded  in  this  discussion;  and  as  the 
leprosy,  in  that  case,  is  said  to  have  been  Hmmediately'''' 
cleansed;  so  also  shall  we  be  immediately  delivered 
from  all  the  leprosy  of  sin,  if  we  apply  to  the  Redeemer 
for  that  purpose,  and  hear  him  speak  within  us,  "I  will, 
be  thou  clean." 

Fifthly.  The  process  of  refining  silver  and  gold  is 
employed  in  the  Scriptures  with  the  same  end  in  view. 
When  gold  or  silver  is  mixed  with  alloy,  and  about  to 
be  refined,  it  is  put  into  a  crucible  and  placed  in  the 
fire.  The  intense  heat  of  the  furnace  reduces  it  to  a 
fluid;  and  while  in  this  state,  the  particles  of  gold  pre- 
cipitate, and  the  alloy  or  baser  metal  floats  on  the  sur- 
face; so  that  the  refiner,  with  an  instrument,  can  take  it 
all  away.  To  this  process  of  refining,  the  prophet 
alludes  in  the  following  words: — "I  will  turn  my  hand 
upon  thee,  and  purely  purge  away  thy  dross,  and  take 
away  all  thy  tin."  So  also  does  another  prophet,  who 
speaks  of  our  Lord  in  the  following  way: — "The  Lord 
whom  ye  seek — is  like  a  refiner's  fire, — and  shall  sit  as 
a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver;  and  he  shall  purify  the 
sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that 
they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  righteous- 
ness." In  such  texts  as  these  the  process,  not  of  a  par- 
tial, but  entire,  sanctification  of  our  nature  is  evidently 
pointed  out.  The  language  employed  is  incapable  of 
any  other  construction.  And  the  period  of  time  neces- 
sary for  the  process  is  easily  perceived  in  such  texts  as 
the  above,  standing  out,  as  those  clauses  of  them  do 


62 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


which  relate  to  that  point,  in  such  broad  and  prominent 
relief;  so  that  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  believing, 
that  when  the  sanctifying  process  has  once  been  begun 
in  the  soul  by  regeneration,  if  it  were  suffered  to  go  on, 
and  the  fire  not  cooled  by  negligence  in  us,  entire 
sanctification  would  quickly  take  place;  and  the  church 
of  the  Redeemer  would  soon  be  filled  with  vessels  of 
honor,  vessels  of  pure  untarnished  silver,  and  bright, 
burnished,  unmingled  gold. 

Perhaps  the  preceding  cases  are  more  than  are  strictly 
necessary  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  point  underhand. 
Yet,  nevertheless,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  mention,  at 
least,  another  portion  of  Scripture,  in  which  our  adora- 
ble Redeemer  has  endeavored  to  familiarize  to  our  mind, 
and  bring  down  to  the  humblest  capacity,  the  same 
important  thing.    I  now  allude, 

Sixthly.  To  the  process  of  leaven.  One  of  the  para- 
bles of  our  Lord  reads  thus: — "The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman  took,  and  hid  in 
three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened." 
The  following  remarks  may  serve  to  set  this  parable  in 
a  clear  and  proper  light.  We  see,  1.  Our  unsanctified 
nature  in  the  unleavened  measures  of  meal.  2.  The 
mysterious  grace  of  God  in  the  mysterious  lump  of 
leaven.  3.  The  communication  of  grace  to  our  heart, 
in  the  hiding  the  leaven  in  the  meal.  4.  The  leaven  works 
mysteriously  in  the  meal,  and  so  does  the  grace  of  God 
in  our  souls.  5.  The  process  of  leaven  in  the  meal  is 
gradual;  so  also  is  the  grace  of  God  in  the  soul.  6. 
Though  the  process  of  leaven  in  the  meal  is  gradual,  it 
is  not  long,  about  twelve  hours  being  quite  suflicient  for 
the  whole  process;  and  wherefore  then  must  we  suppose 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATIOW. 


63 


it  needful  for  the  whole  process  of  entire  sanctification 
to  occupy  a  longer  period  of  time?  Why  must  we  not 
suppose  the  Deity  can  diffuse  his  own  nature  through 
alt  the  powers  and  faculties  of  our  nature  quite  as  easily, 
and  in  as  small  a  portion  of  time,  as  a  small  portion  of 
leaven  can  diffuse  its  own  nature  through  three  measures 
of  meal,  till  it  has  thoroughly  leavened  the  whole  of  the 
lump?  Certainly  we  must  allow  he  is  able  to  do  this, 
or  we  shall  greatly  dishonor  our  Maker  and  Judge,  and 
plunge  into  ruin  by  strange  unbelief.  This  parable, 
therefore,  contains  a  fine  illustration  of  the  power  and 
influence  of  sanctifying  grace.  And  it  is  the  more  val- 
uable, because  it  is  plain  and  easy,  and  lies  on  a  level 
with  the  capacity  of  a  child. 

It  would  be  as  easy  to  enlarge  as  it  is  pleasing  to 
dwell  on  such  a  theme  as  this.  The  sacred  page  is  as 
boundless  in  its  treasures,  as  it  is  rich  and  glowing  in 
its  representations  of  this  great  work  of  God.  Never- 
theless, I  must  forego  the  pleasure  which  a  protracted 
discussion  of  this  subject  would  afford  until  some  future 
occasion,  and  ofler  some  general  remarks  in  this  depart- 
ment of  my  work. 

My  first  observation  shall  be  this;  that  from  what  has 
been  said,  as  well  as  from  the  nature  of  the  thing,  it 
appears  that  there  must  be  a  moment  when  the  sancti- 
fying process  has  its  commencement  in  the  soul;  and 
that  moment  is  the  moment  in  which  we  are  justified, 
and  born  again  of  God.  Then  it  is  that  the  leaven  of 
grace  begins  to  operate,  that  the  old  man  of  sin  becomes 
nailed  to  the  cross,  and  that  the  body  of  sin  begins  to 
be  destroyed.  My  second  remark  is  this,  that  from  the 
commencement  to  the  termination  of  this  process,  two 


64 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


J  principles,  contrary  to  each,  exist  in  our  nature;  namely, 
the  remains  of  the  carnal  mind,  and  the  hallowing  grace 

'  of  God.  This  is  an  important  fact,  and  demands  the 
most  serious  consideration  of  believers,  as  much  of  their 
peace  of  mind,  till  they  are  wholly  sanctified  to  God, 
will  often  depend  upon  right  conceptions  of  this  very 
point.  If  they  have  clear  views  of  it,  they  will  attri- 
bute the  coldness  and  langor,  and  evil  desires^and 
thoughts,  which  they  sometimes  find  witiiin  them,  to  the 
stirrings  and  emotions  of  sin  that  dvvelleth  in  them,  even 
the  remains  of  a  carnal  mind,  and  will  not  surrender 
their  justifying  confidence  in  Christ,  when  the  tempter 
tempts  them  to  do  so  on  that  very  account.  Thirdly. 
The  celerity  of  the  sanctifying  process  depends  upon 
man.  He  may  hinder  it  by  unfaithfulness,  or  forward  it 
by  diligence  directed  aright.  Fourthly.  If  the  Chris- 
tian be  faithful,  the  process  goes  on.  The  body  of  sin 
is  more  and  more  destroyed,  and  grace  gains  the  ascend- 
ant. Thus  the  moment  arrives  at  last  when  sin  is 
entirely  done  away,  and  the  whole  soul  of  the  believer 
filled  with  grace.  This  is  that  entire  sanctification  for 
which  I  contend  through  the  whole  of  this  work. 
Fifthly.  In  this  way  the  reader  will  perceive  what  is 
usually  intended  by  the  term  "instantaneous,"  when 
applied  to  the  work  in  question.  It  simply  means,  that 
the  work  which  purifies  the  understanding,  memory, 
will,  conscience,  and  the  passions  in  general,  as  described 
in  a  former  part  of  this  work,  together  with  the  members 
and  senses  of  the  body,  and  fills  and  subjects  them  all  to 
the  dominion  of  grace,  is  finished!  and  this  finishing  or 
termination  of  the  process,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
thing,  must  take  place  in  a  moment,  or  be  instantaneous, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


65 


if  ever  it  take  place  at  all.  So  that  the  greatest  advo- 
cates for  the  gradual,  and  even  protracted  process  of 
this  work,  can  have  no  just  ground  of  exception  to  a  so- 
ber and  chastened  use  of  the  term.  Sixthly.  Let  us  be 
careful,  however,  not  to  limit  the  Holy  one  of  Israel,  as 
to  time,  in  the  performance  of  this  work.  Time,  indeed, 
can  be  nothing  to  Him,  who  can  do  in  a  moment  as  much 
as  in  an  age.  Had  he  seen  fit,  he  could  have  formed  the 
world  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  just  as  well  as  in  the 
space  of  six  days.  And  if,  in  the  process  of  that  work 
we  are  discussing,  we  allow  a  regular  order  to  take  place, 
a  beginning,  a  subsequent  progression  and  increase,  and 
then  a  completion  or  finishing  of  the  work;  if  we  allow 
all  this,  as  we  certainly  ought,  if  we  would  think  and 
speak  aright;  is  not  the  Deity  able  to  attend  to  it  all  in 
a  moment  of  time?  So  that,  whatever  may  be  the  case 
or  experience  of  some  individuals,  there  can  be  no  ne- 
cessity of  supposing  that  God  must  be  either  years,  or 
months,  or  days  in  accomplishing  this  work.  The  thief 
on  the  cross  was  both  justified  and  sanctified  in  less  than 
a  day.  And  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  those  who 
contend  for  a  long  and  tedious  process  of  this  work, 
form  their  opinions  on  false  and  fallacious  principles, 
and  not  on  the  doctrines  of  God.  They  look  at  the 
experience  of  men;  and  because  some  good  men  have 
been  years  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  never  enjoyed 
this  blessing,  hastily  infer  that  others  must  be  so  too. 
They  never  appear  to  think  that  these  men,  though 
faithful,  perhaps,  in  all  other  respects,  have  not  been 
faithful  in  this;  or  that  they  have  erred  in  their  views 
concerning  it;  and  have  not  sought  it,  because,  throuo-h 
some  unhappy  circumstance  or  other,  they  have  not 
7 


68 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


of  its  maturity  and  perfection  in  themselves;  not  by 
these  only,  (which  cannot  afford  indubitable  certainty,) 
but  by  these  in  connexion  with  a  very  different  thing, 
namely,  the  direct  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
that  they  are  wholly  sanctified;  concerning  which  I  must 
now  subjoin  a  few  words. 

I  confess  I  write  upon  this  point  with  diffidence,  the 
subject  being  weighty,  and  liable  to  abuse.  But  as  I 
dare  not  altogether  waive  it,  I  will  speak  with  deference 
to  those  who  may  think  differently  from  me,  if  any 
should  think  differently,  on  this  interesting  point,  and 
shall  stand  open  to  correction,  especially  from  my  fathers 
and  brethren  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  And  having  said  this,  I  may  now  be  per- 
mitted to  add,  that,  according  to  the  views  I  have  formed 
on  this  point,  we  cannot  be  sure  we  are  free  from  all 
sin,  and  perfectly  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  himself,  who  accomplishes  the 
work.  We  cannot,  for  example,  be  absolutely  sure  that 
no  lingering  traces  of  pride,  desire,  concupiscence, 
covetousness,  love  of  the  world,  vanity,  and  the  like, 
have  no  more  place  within  us,  by  this  circumstance 
alone,  namely,  that  we  do  not  feel  any  emotions  of  them, 
or  any  one  of  them,  upon  any  occasion  whatsoever, 
remaining  in  our  breast;  by  feeling  nothing  of  this  kind, 
I  repeat,  we  cannot  be  absolutely  certain  that  nothing 
at  all  of  this  nature  is  remaining  in  the  soul;  for 
we  do  not  know,  nor  is  it  possible  to  know,  the  depth  of 
inbred  corruption  in  our  nature,  unless  we  could  sound 
the  depth  of  the  human  heart,  which  we  know  to  be 
impossible  to  any  but  God.  (Jer.  xvii,  10.)  So  that 
there  may  be  roots  of  bitterness,  and  remains  and  seeds 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


69 


of  sin  within  us,  too  deeply  concealed  in  our  nature  to 
be  easily,  or  at  all,  discovered  by  us.  And  a  conscious- 
ness of  this  might  be  that  which  led  David  to  pray, 
that  Jehovah  would  "search  his  heart,"  and  know  and 
try  his  "thoughts,"  and  see  if  there  were  remaining 
any  "wicked  way  in  him,"  and  the  like.  (Ps.  cxxxix, 
23,  24.)  For  the  principles  of  vice  are  so  insidious  and 
deep  rooted  in  our  nature,  that,  even  from  the  hearts  of 
the  ungodly,  where  they  are  not  so  restrained  and  borne 
down  by  grace  as  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  justi- 
fied and  born  of  God,  there  are  many  enormities  which 
leave  not  their  lurking  places  so  as  at  any  time  to  be 
very  apparent  in  their  life;  the  consequence  is,  that  it 
is  only  by  reasons  drawn  from  analogy,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures,  that  we  know  they  are  there. 
And  thus  I  conceive  it  may  be  with  the  righteous  also, 
in  regard  to  the  remains  of  the  carnal  mind,  which  are 
kept  down  in  the  soul  by  the  superior  power  of  regen- 
erating and  preserving  grace.  So  that,  although  we 
may  be  very  sensible  of  growth  in  grace,  from  our  own 
experience  and  inward  consciousness  that  we  feel  more 
and  more  meekness,  humility,  gentleness,  goodness, 
fidelity,  and  the  like,  and  from  a  corresponding  con- 
sciousness of  a  decay  and  weakening  of  the  opposite 
vices  in  the  heart,  and  the  like;  yet  the  total  removal  of 
the  principles  and  seeds  of  those  vices,  as  it  can  only  be 
known  to  God  in  the  first  instance,  so  must  it,  in  the 
second  instance,  be  witnessed  to  the  heart  of  him  who 
obtains  it  by  the  direct  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God; 
nor  can  he  be  sure  he  enjoys  it  in  any  other  way.  But 
I  shall  have  occasion  perhaps,  to  advert  to  this  matter 
again  in  the  course  of  this  essay,  and  shall  therefore  say 


70 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


nothing  further  upon  it  in  this  department  of  my  work, 
save  that  I  would  recommend  to  the  candid  reader,  who 
may  not  have  thoroughly  examined  this  subject,  a  close 
consideration  of  those  brief  hints  concerning  it  which 
have  just  been  put  down,  as,  by  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  them,  a  course  of  profitable  thoughts  respecting 
it  may  thereby  be  happily  excited  in  the  mind. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


71 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ENTIRE  SAXCTIFICATION  THE  WORK   OF  GOD. 

As  it  is  important  that  the  reader  should  know  the 
immediate  power  or  agency  by  which  this  great  change 
is  wrought  in  our  nature,  I  proceed  to  furnish  the  best 
information  I  can  concerning  that  point. 

And,  first,  we  must  remark,  that  whatever  means  it 
may  be  needful  for  man  to  use  in  seeking  the  blessing 
in  question,  the  work  itself,  that  is",  the  entire  removal 
of  all  sinful  propensions  and  dispositions,  is  not  the 
work  of  man,  but  of  God.  Man,  indeed,  is  uniformly 
represented  as  unable  to  do  any  portion  whatever  of 
this  great  and  important  work.  "Can  the  Ethiopian 
change  his  skin?"  says  the  prophet,  "or  the  leopard  his 
spots?  Then  may  ye  who  have  been  accustomed  to  do 
evil  learn  to  do  well."  The  same  total  inability  of  man 
to  effect  an  alteration  in  his  own  nature  is  likewise  very 
forcibly  represented  in  such  scriptural  declarations  as 
the  following:  "Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an 
unclean?"  "Which  of  you,  by  taking  thought,  can  add 
one  cubit  to  his  stature?"  and  the  like,  many  of  which 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Oracles  of  God.  And  in  no  part 
of  the  Bible  is  it  so  much  as  intimated  that  man  is  at 
all  an  agent  in  this  work,  any  further  than  in  the  use  of 
certain  means,  which  shall  be  sufficiently  noticed  in  the 
ensuing  chapter. 


72 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


Secondly.  It  is  ascribed  in  the  Scriptures  to  the 
adorable  Trinity, — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  the 
fountain  and  source  of  every  thing  good.  It  is  attri- 
buted to  the  Father  by  St.  Jude,  who  speaks  of  the 
saints  as  "sanctified  by  God  the  Father."  (ver.  1.)  Our 
Lord  also  attributes  it  to  the  Father,  where  he  prays 
the  Father  to  "sanctify  his  disciples  through  the  truth," 
&.C.  (John  xvii,  17.)  It  is  likewise  attributed  to  the 
Son,  where  it  is  said  by  St.  Paul,  that  "Christ  also 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,  that  he  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it,"  and  the  like;  and  where  the 
same  Apostle,  in  another  place,  says  that  "Jesus  also, 
that  he  might  sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood, 
suffered  without  the  gate."  (Eph.  v,  26;  Heb.  xiii,  12.) 
And  it  is  also  attributed  to  the  Holy  Ghost  in  numerous 
portions  of  the  sacred  and  unerring  page.  It  will  be 
sufficient  for  the  reader  to  notice  the  following,  if  he 
examine  them  with  suitable  attention  and  care.  "God 
hath  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth." 
(2  Thess.  ii,  13.)  "Peter,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ, 
to  the  strangers — elect — through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit,"  &c.  (I  Pt.  i,  1,  2.)  "Not  by  works  of  righteous- 
ness which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he 
hath  saved  us,  by  the — renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
(Tit.  iii,  5.)  Now,  all  these  passages,  if  taken  collect- 
ively, as  they  ought  to  be,  demonstrate  the  process  of 
sanctification,  from  beginning  to  end,  to  be  carried  on 
by  the  united  counsel  and  operation  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost; — the  same  who  in  the  beginning  said, 
"Let  Tjs  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness;' 
and  who  created  him,  accordingly,  in  "the  image  of 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


73 


God."  (Gen.  i,  26,  27.)  And  this  stamps  a  dignity  and 
importance  upon  the  work  which  nothing  else  could 
possibly  do. 

It  is  usual,  indeed,  to  attribute  the  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  of  man  to  the  Boly  Spirit  alone;  not  so  as  to  ex- 
clude the  Father  or  Son  from  any  share  in  it,  but  with- 
out particularly  naming  them;  perhaps  because  the 
Spirit  is  more  especially  the  agent  of  God  in  the  church, 
having  been  sent  by  the  Father  and  Son  to  abide  with 
the  church  for  ever.  Hence  Bishop  Pearson,  in  his  in- 
valuable Exposition  of  the  Creed,  not  only  considers 
sanctification  as  consisting  in  'Hhe  divine  illumination  of 
the  understanding,"  and  "the  renewing  of  all  the  parts 
and  faculties  of  the  soul,"  but  attributes  the  entire  work 
to  the  agency  of  tiie  Holy  Ghost.  (See  his  Exp.  Ar- 
ticle 8.)  And  in  like  manner  does  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church,  directing  us  to  pray  that  "the  thoughts  of  our 
hearts  may  be  cleansed  by  the  Holy  Spirit's  inspiration, 
that  we  may  perfectly  love  God,  and  worthily  magnify 
his  holy  name."  (Communion  Service.)  Nor  is  there 
any  thing  at  all  wrong  in  all  this,  provided  we  always 
recollect,  that,  although  the  Spirit,  by  virtue  of  his  pe- 
culiar office  in  the  church,  may  be  more  especially  the 
agent  in  this  great  and  glorious  work  in  us,  it  belongs 
also  to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son. 

We  may  now,  in  the  third  place,  remark,  that  in  his 
vast  operation,  both  of  providence  and  grace,  the  Deity 
employs  a  variety  of  means  and  instruments  through 
which  he  puts  forth  his  own  glorious  power,  in  order  to 
accomplish  the  purposes  of  his  will.  He  employs,  for 
example,  the  rain  and  the  sun  to  produce  vegetation,  and 
corn,  to  support  the  existence  of  man.    The  Deity,  we 


74 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


say,  employs  these  instruments  to  produce  corn,  and  to 
support  human  life;  but  the  power  which  actually  ac- 
complishes  these  things  is  the  power  and  energy  of  God, 
which  lies  hid  under  the  mantle  of  second  causes  from 
the  eyes  of  the  ungodly,  and  produces  and  feeds  and 
supports  the  effect.  And  thus  also  it  is  in  the  kingdom 
of  grace.  God  is  the  first  cause,  and  the  great  artificer 
of  every  thing  good  in  the  nature  of  man.  But  in  effect- 
ing a  change  in  our  nature,  and  in  feeding  and  support- 
ing that  change  when  once  it  is  accomplished  within  us, 
a  variety  of  means  are  employed  by  himself,  of  which 
we  must  now  produce  some  account. 

Now,  in  wholly  renewing  the  nature  of  man,  the 
Deity  employs  the  Gospel  of  his  Son.  And  here  let  the 
reader  be  careful  to  observe,  that  a  very  peculiar  mode 
of  expression  is  often  employed  concerning  the  Gospel, 
to  denote  a  peculiar  power  which  the  Gospel  contains. 
It  is  said,  for  example,  to  be  "the  power  of  God  to  sal- 
vation;" to  be  both  '^quick  and  powerful;"  and  "sharper 
than  a  two-edged  sword."  It  is,  moreover,  said  to  "live 
and  to  abide  for  ever;"  and  the  sacred  Scriptures  are 
said  to  be,  "the  lively  oracles:"  from  all  which  it  is 
very  manifest  that  a  vitality,  of  a  very  extraordinary 
nature,  and  a  power,  of  a  very  uncommon  description, 
belong  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Now,  this  vitality  and  power,  on  particular  occasions, 
when  the  Gospel  is  read  or  expounded,  is  peculiarly 
felt,  though,  on  other  occasions,  when  the  Gospel  is 
read  or  expounded,  as  before,  it  is  either  not  felt  at  all, 
or  not  to  the  same  extent;  and,  on  the  very  same  occa- 
sions, also,  when  some  individuals  feel  it,  others  may  not. 
And  hence  it  evidently  appears,  an  enlightening  and 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


75 


saving  influence  is  not  necessarily  emanent  from  the 
Gospel,  nor  does  it  proceed  from  the  written  word  as  a 
matter  of  course,  as  moisture  from  rain,  or  light  from 
the  sun;  but  depends  on  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the 
great  God  himself,  who  is  ever  with  his  word,  and  puts 
forth  his  power  through  it,  according  to  his  will. 

The  Gospel,  however,  can  never  be  read  by  an  indi- 
vidual, or  preached  to  a  congregation,  desiring  to  get 
good,  but  the  power  of  the  Deity  in  it  will  awaken  and 
come  forth;  it  will  enlighten,  sanctify  and  bless,  as  their 
circumstances  require,  or  according  to  their  earnest 
desire  to  get  good.  And  hence  that  remarkable  passage 
in  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  who  seem,  at 
the  time  to  which  it  relates,  to  have  been  willing  to  be 
taught  by  the  apostles,  and  uncommonly  anxious  to  get 
good  to  their  souls.  "For  our  Gospel,"  says  the  Apostle, 
came  not  to  you  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power,  and  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance."  To  the  Thes- 
salonians, we  may  repeat,  the  Gospel  had  come  in  that 
remarkable  way  which  is  described  in  this  text.  But  to 
others,  the  Apostle  intimates,  it  had  come  in  tcord  only. 
No  particular  unction  had  attended  its  administration. 
The  divine  power  had  lain  quiescent  in  the  truth,  and 
had  not  been  felt  in  the  hearts  of  the  hearers,  owing,  of 
course,  to  some  fault  or  failing  in  them  in  regard  to  the 
Gospel,  and,  perhaps,  to  some  kind  or  degree  of  unbe- 
lief, as  it  is  "the  power  of  God  to  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth.'''' 

All  this  will  enable  us  to  see  in  what  light  those  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  are  to  be  understood  which  speak  of 
believers  being  "begotten  by  the  Gospel,"  or  "born 
again  by  the  word  of  God,"  when  they  first  enter  upon 


76 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


the  Christian  life;  especially  if  we  compare  them  with 
other  texts,  in  which  we  are  said  to  be  "born  of  the 
Spirit,"  "born  of  God,"  and  the  like;  as  it  will  prove 
the  vitality  and  power  which  attend  the  Gospel  to  be, 
not  the  mere  abstract  energy  of  truth,  no;  but  Gs>d 
himself,  with  and  in  his  own  glorious  truth,  raising  the 
dead  to  life,  purifying  our  fallen  and  degenerate  nature, 
and  gloriously  uniting  our  souls  to  himself. 

The  same  thing  must  be  acknowledged  concerning 
the  Gospel,  in  all  our  subsequent  improvements  in  grace. 
If  we  grow  up  into  Christ  our  living  head  in  all  things; 
if  we  add  to  our  faith,  virtue;  to  our  virtue,  knowledge; 
to  our  knowledge,  temperance,  patience,  godliness,  and 
the  like;  if  the  body  of  sin  is  entirely  destroyed,  and 
the  divine  nature  brought  in;  if  the  Christian  is  at  any 
time  whatsoever  emptied  of  self  and  of  Satan,  of  pride, 
sin,  and  unbelief,  and  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  or,  as 
the  same  thing  is  elsewhere  expressed,  filled  with  all  the 
fulness  of  God;  if  this  event,  so  great  and  glorious  in 
its  nature,  ever  does  take  place  in  man,  whether  it  be 
accomplished  in  a  long  or  short  portion  of  time,  it  is 
certain  the  Deity  communicates  himself;  and  the  only 
question  is,  whether  he  does  this  by  means  of  the  Gospel, 
making  its  doctrines  and  promises  the  channel  of  com- 
munication, or  whether  he  does  it  without  any  such 
means.  And  no  doubt,  1  think,  can  be  entertained,  by 
those  who  examine  the  subject,  that,  whatever  the  Deity 
may  be  able  to  do,  he  does  not,  ordinarily  at  least,  com- 
municate his  power  to  our  nature,  and  sanctify  us  wholly 
to  himself,  but  by  means  of  his  written  and  ever- 
glorious  word.  So  that  if  the  understanding  of  man  is 
enlightened,  it  is  said  to  be  by  the  truth;  if  the  will  and 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


77 


affections  are  changed,  God  is  said  to  have  put  his  law 
into  our  hearts,  and  written  it  upon  our  minds;  if  we 
are  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  it  is  said  to  be 
by  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  given  to 
us  of  God  for  that  very  purpose;  if  we  are  entirely 
sanctified,  Christ  prayed  that  we  might  be  so  sanctified 
through  the  truth;  and  in  another  place  he  says,  "Ye 
shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 
Yet  all  this  enlightening,  renewing,  and  sanctifying 
power  must  be  understood  of  the  God  of  power  and 
grace  himself,  who  puts  forth  his  power  through  the 
medium  of  the  truth,  and  so  sanctifies  our  nature  entirely 
to  himself. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  notice,  that  the  means  of 
grace  in  general  are  used  by  the  Father  of  mercies 
precisely  in  the  same  way.  God  himself  makes  use 
of  the  Christian's  closet,  his  hour  of  retirement  from 
the  world,  his  self-examination,  his  family  devotion,  and 
the  like,  to  do  him  both  great  and  everlasting  good. 
The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  public  assemblies  of 
the  saints,  when  Christians  meet  together  to  pray  and 
hear  the  word  at  solemn  and  stated  times.  "God  is  in 
the  midst"  of  those  solemn  and  stated  assemblies  of  the 
saints,  as  in  no  other  places  of  this  spacious  earth. 
Hence,  in  days  of  old,  even  in  the  time  of  Moses,  he 
made  promise  to  his  saints,  saying,  "In  all  places  where 
I  record  my  name,  I  will  come  unto  thee,  and  will  bless 
thee."  (Ex.  xx,  24.)  Considerations  of  this  sort,  con- 
cerning the  means  of  grace  in  general,  must  lead  us  to 
see  that  God  has  been  pleased  to  stamp  them  with 
honor,  and  put  to  confusion  the  men  who  lightly  esteem 


78 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


them,  under  the  false  and  wicked  pretence  that,  because 
God  fills  immensity,  it  is  needless  to  seek  him  in  his 
holy  temples;  a  sentiment  as  contrary  to  reason,  as  to 
the  Oracles  of  God.  I  will  not,  however,  attempt  to 
refute  this  profligate  and  infidel  idea;  those  who  will 
read  this  volume  will  scarcely  need  putting  on  their 
guard  against  it.  They  know  that  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  wicked  men  are  far  off  from  God,  and  in  which 
good  men,  and  such  as  are  seeking  to  be  good,  are  said 
to  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  a  sense  in  which  God  is  said 
to  draw  nigh  to  them;  but  nothing  of  this  could  possi- 
bly take  place  on  the  supposition  of  those  men  we  have 
referred  to  above. 

The  bounties  of  Providence  seem  employed  by  the 
Deity  with  the  same  end  in  view.  "The  goodness  of 
God,"  according  to  St.  Paul,  "leadeth"  even  the  wicked 
"to  repentance."  Such  is  the  tendency  of  providential 
goodness  on  the  wicked.  And  if  it  hath  this  tendency 
on  them,  what  must  be  its  tendency  on  minds  already 
under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  and  grace  of  God,  and 
desiring  to  rise  into  all  the  mind  of  Christ?  To  a  mind 
already  in  this  happy  state,  both  food,  and  clothing,  and 
shelter,  and  friends,  and  health,  and  strength,  and  riches, 
and  honor,  and  every  other  thing,  will  be  fraught  with 
an  hallowing  influence  from  God,  and  breathe  on  those 
who  possess  them  the  odors  of  his  grace  from  day  to 
day.  For,  while  it  is  in  the  nature  of  sin  to  blacken 
and  blast,  and  to  turn  even  our  blessings  into  a  curse,  it 
is  just  the  reverse  with  the  grace  of  the  Redeemer  in 
the  heart.  Let  the  sinner  be  converted  to  God.  Let 
him  forsake  his  evil  ways,  and  seek  mercy  and  salva- 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


79 


tion;  let  him  be  born  from  above,  born  again  of  the 
spirit,  and  united  to  him  who  repeals  tlie  curse,  and  see 
what  the  happy  effect  will  be: — 

"Earth  then  a  scale  to  heaven  shall  be; 

Sense  shall  point  out  the  road; 
The  creatures  all  shall  lead  to  thee: 

And  ail  we  taste  be  God." 

So  much  for  the  bounties  of  Providence.  And  hav- 
inof  said  this  concerning  its  bounties,  we  may  now  con- 
sider the  character  of  its  afflictions:  for  Providence, 
like  that  mysterious  cloud  which  attended  the  Hebrews 
of  old,  has  not  only  a  bright  and  shining  aspect,  which 
we  have  just  been  considering,  but  sometimes  a  dark 
and  gloomy  one  also,  the  real  character  of  which  we 
must  now  for  a  moment  unfold.  And  if  it  shall  appear, 
on  examination,  that  the  dark  side  of  the  cloud  is  also 
"big  with  mercy,"  and  that  "behind  a  frowning  provi- 
dence" the  abundance  of  his  mercy  is  only  hid  from  our 
darkling  eyes,  not  kept  from  streaming  into  our  souls, 
then  shall  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  indeed,  and  to  be- 
lieve that  all  things  work  together  for  our  good. 

Now,  that  God  uses  afflictions  in  general  for  the  same 
purpose  as  the  Gospel  and  the  means  of  grace,  namely, 
for  the  purpose  of  sanctifying  our  nature,  and  making 
us  wholly  free  from  sin,  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  truth 
will  abundantly  prove.  This  doctrine  is  generally  con- 
tained in  the  following  words,  "Cursed  is  the  ground 
for  thy  sake;''''  but  more  particularly  in  such  passages 
as  this,  "And  thou  shalt  consider  in  thine  heart,  that,  as 
a  father  chastiseth  his  children,  so  thy  God  chastiseth 


80 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


thee;"  chastiseth  thee  for  thy  good.  To  the  same 
effect  the  reader  will  meet  with  a  very  beautiful  passage 
in  Isaiah,  (chap,  xxvii,  6 — 9,)  in  which  the  design  of 
God  in  our  affliction  is  expressly  declared  to  be  "to 
take  away  our  sin."  In  the  New  Testament  the  same 
subject  is  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  in  the  following  terms: 
"Moreover,"  says  he,  "we  have  had  fathers  of  our  flesh 
which  corrected  us,  and  we  gave  them  reverence;  shall 
we  not  much  rather  be  in  subjection  to  the  Father  of 
spirits,  and  live?  For  they  verily  for  a  few  days  chast- 
ened us  for  their  own  pleasure;  but  he  for  our  profit, 
that  we  might  be  partakers  of  his  holiness."  According 
to  these  passages  of  the  Scriptures,  which  are  quite 
sufficient  for  my  purpose,  the  design  of  God,  in  all  our 
afflictions,  is  the  same;  it  is  to  make  us  holy  in  life  and 
in  heart,  while  here  on  earth,  that  we  may  be  nigh  unto 
God  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

It  appears  then,  upon  the  whole,  from  what  has  been 
said  in  this  chapter,  that  the  entire  sanctification  of  our 
nature  is  effected  by  the  Almighty,  and  that  it  is  truly 
and  properly  his  work,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others; 
that,  in  effecting  it,  he  employs  a  variety  of  means, 
which,  when  we  also,  on  our  part,  are  willing,  and  do 
not  oppose  his  gracious  designs,  he  keeps  up  in  perpetual 
and  active  operation,  and  puts  forth  his  saving  power 
and  grace  through  all  of  them  generally,  and  through 
each  individually,  till  he  has  fully  accomplished  the 
work  of  redemption  in  our  nature,  and  gloriously  filled 
our  souls  with  himself.  The  principal  of  those  means 
which  the  Deity  is  pleased  to  employ  for  this  great  pur- 
pose, arc  the  word  of  God,  the  ordinances  of  religion 
in  general,  and  the  bounties  of  his  providence.  The 


EyTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


81 


Spirit  visits  us  in  all  these,  and  graciously  strives  to 
unite  us  to  God;  and,  if  the  gentler  methods  of  the 
Deity,  implied  in  the  use  of  these  means,  would  answer 
the  end  intended,  the  rougher  methods  of  affliction 
would  be  sparingly  employed.  But  when  milder  methods 
fail,  and  the  diseases  of  our  hearts  are  become  too  in- 
veterate to  give  way  to  those  portions  of  redeeming 
mercy  usually  administered  therein,  then  God  makes 
his  last  great  effort  to  save  us,  adding  afflictions,  more 
or  less  severe,  to  all  the  former  efforts  of  his  mercy;  and 

"When  ills  can't  bless,  Heaven  quits  us  in  despair." 

But  when  this  is  not  the  case,  when  man  listens  to  the 
Gospel,  and  yields  to  be  saved  from  sin,  the  restoring 
remedies  implied  in  the  various  means  we  have  men- 
tioned are  wisely  proportioned  and  administered;  to 
some,  more  of  one  thing;  to  some,  more  of  another, 
according  as  the  various  circumstances  of  our  souls  re- 
quire; so  that  whatever  proportion  of  each  we  receive, 
for  us  it  is  the  best,  and  the  most  likely  to  do  us  both 
present  and  everlasting  good.  "All  things"  that  God 
ordains  to  be  the  lot  of  man,  shall  "work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God." 


8* 


82 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  OH 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MAN    MUST   USE    MEANS  IN  ORDER  TO   BE  ENTIRELY 
SANCTIFIED. 

It  is  one  of  the  wise  arrangements  of  divine  Provi- 
dence in  the  affairs  of  this  life,  that  certain  means  shall 
be  used  in  order  to  obtain  such  blessings  as  we  need 
from  the  great  and  munificent  God.  If  we  are  sick,  for 
example,  we  must  have  recourse  to  certain  medicines> 
or  to  some  particular  kind  of  regimen,  or  to  both,  in 
order  to  the  restoration  of  our  health;  and  we  must 
plough  and  sow,  in  order  to  reap  plentiful  harvests  from 
God.  The  time  also,  and  the  manner  of  using  these 
means,  were  fixed  by  the  Deity  when  planning  and  set- 
tling the  afl!airs  of  this  world;  so  that  not  only  he  who 
neglects  them  wholly,  but  he  also  who  does  not  attend 
to  them  at  the  time,  and  likewise  in  the  manner  that  he 
ought,  must  be  content  to  forego  the  blessing  he  would 
otherwise  enjoy.  If  "the  sluggard  will  not  plough" 
(in  winter,  when  he  ought)  "by  reason  of  the  cold,  he 
shall  therefore  beg  in  harvest,"  says  Solomon,  "and 
have  nothing." 

In  like  manner  hath  the  Lord  ordained,  in  the  glo- 
rious economy  of  grace,  that  certain  means  shall  be 
used  in  order  to  obtain  salvation  from  God.  Repent- 
ance, prayer,  and  faith,  for  example,  are  needfiil  to 
obtain  forgiveness  of  sins:  and  if  the  Christian,  having 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


83 


obtained  this  blessing,  would  never  fail,  he  must  add  to 
his  faith  virtue,  to  his  virtue  knowledge,  and  the  like, 
because  his  standing  in  peace  and  fixvor  with  God  is 
made,  by  the  Deity,  to  depend  on  this  thing.  (2  Pet.  i, 
5 — 8.)  The  time  also  and  the  manner  of  seeking  the 
divine  favor  and  goodness,  and  of  adding  virtue,  and  the 
like,  to  our  faith,  have  been  ordained  of  God,  who  bids 
us  "seek  the  Lord  ivhile  he  may  be  found,  and  call  upon 
him  rvhile  he  is  near."  So  that  the  analogy  between 
nature  and  grace,  in  all  these  respects,  is  beautiful  and 
striking,  and  constitutes,  to  such  as  can  fully  pursue  it, 
one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  that  the  religion  of  the 
Bible  must  certainly  be  the  wise  and  gracious  contriv- 
ance of  that  great  and  glorious  Being  who  is  the  Author 
and  Governor  of  this  lower  world. 

Having,  therefore,  considered,  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, some  of  those  means  which  the  Deity  himself  is 
pleased  to  employ  in  accomplishing  the  entire  renewal 
of  man,  we  will  now  proceed  to  consider,  at  least,  some 
of  the  means  which  we  also  ourselves  are  under  the 
necessity  of  using,  in  order  that  the  object  in  question 
may  be  attained.  These  will  be  found  to  be  various  in 
their  kinds,  and  different  also,  in  some  respects  at  least, 
in  their  relative  importance  and  necessity;  but  those  I 
shall  more  especially  point  out  which  are  more  espe- 
cially important,  and  none  shall  be  named  in  this  place 
but  such  as,  to  those  who  have  time  and  opportunity  to 
attend  to  them,  the  Deity  himself  has  made  needful,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  blessing  of  purity  of  heart. 

Now  the  principal  means  to  be  used,  and  that  which 
implies  every  other,  is  a  right  or  suitable  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.    For  if  all  our  salvation,  from  be- 


84 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


ginning  to  end,  is  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  I  shall 
here  take  for  granted  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  if  every  particular  branch  or  degree  of  salvation  is 
by  a  particular  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  a  faith  suited  to 
the  kind  or  degree  of  salvation  it  brings  into  the  soul, 
which  also  I  shall  assume  in  this  place;  then  it  will 
follow  of  course,  that  the  great  blessing  in  question,  en- 
tire sanctification,  cannot  be  obtained  by  a  faith  in  Christ 
which  would  produce  repentance,  obtain  pardon,  or  even 
remove  mountains,  but  requires  a  faith  peculiar  and 
proper  to  itself,  and  which  it  is  needful  in  this  place  I 
should  clearly  and  fully  endeavor  to  point  out. 

What,  then,  is  that  faith  by  which  one  who  is  justified 
freely,  may  be  sanctified  wholly?  I  will  give  the  answer 
to  this  vital  question  as  briefly  as  possible,  that  the  faith 
I  am  wishful  to  hold  prominently  forth  to  the  reader's 
inspection  may  not  be  concealed  in  the  exuberance  of 
words,  but  made  visible  to  the  eye,  and  gain  a  more 
easy  access  to  the  heart. 

Now,  in  all  kinds  and  degrees  of  saving  faith,  there 
are  found  to  be  three  things,  none  of  which  can  be 
spared  or  separated  from  the  rest  without  rendering  our 
faith  inefl^ectual  and  dead.  The  first  is,  a  perception  of 
the  promise  of  the  salvation  we  need.  The  second  is,  a 
conviction  of  its  vital  importance  and  truth.  And  the 
third  is,  embracing  that  promise  with  the  affections  or 
heart.  Each  of  these  particulars  we  find  in  the  faith  of 
the  patriarchs.  (Heb.  xi,  13.)  And  the  last  particular 
is  so  important  to  faith,  that  the  Apostle  to  the  Romans 
has  so  spoken  of  faith  as  if  it  consisted  alone  in  this 
very  thing.  "With  the  heart,"  says  he,  "man  believeth 
unto  righteousness."    "If  thou  shall  believe  in  thine 


ENTIRfi  SAJfCTIFICATION. 


85 


heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,"  &c. 
(Rom.  X,  9,  10.) 

From  these  observations,  concerning  the  nature  of 
faith  in  general,  the  transition  is  easy  to  that  by  which 
we  are  wholly  sanctified  to  God.  The  promises  of  en- 
tire sanctification  must  be  clearly  seen.  The  judgment 
must  be  convinced  of  their  truth  and  importance.  The 
heart  must  embrace  them.  If  we  perceive  not  the  pro- 
mises of  entire,  sanctification,  we  are,  on  that  point, 
blind  as  the  heathen.  If  we  perceive  them,  but  are 
not  convinced  of  their  truth  and  importance,  infidelity, 
on  the  same  point,  prevails  in  the  heart.  If  we  believe 
their  truth  and  importance,  but  do  not  embrace  them, 
our  faith  is  still  defective  in  a  very  capital  point: — as  far 
as  speculation  and  judgment  can  go,  it  is  genuine  and 
scriptural;  but  there  wants  the  work  of  the  heart,  a  go- 
ing out  of  the  soul,  in  all  its  noblest  affections,  to  repose 
on  the  promises  for  immediate  and  entire  salvation,  for 
their  full  and  glorious  accomplishment,  throughout  all 
the  parts  and  faculties  of  the  soul;  for  the  moment  we 
thus  rely  upon  God,  honoring  the  word  of  his  promise 
by  faith,  and  do  not  doubt  in  our  hearts,  nor  stagger  at 
the  promise  of  God  through  unbelief,  as  if  the  thing 
which  is  promised  by  God  could  not  be  effected  at  all, 
or,  at  least,  could  not  just  now,  even  this  moment,  take 
place;  the  moment,  I  say,  we  rely  on  him  thus,  in  that 
very  moment  our  sins  shall  all  depart,  and  our  nature  be 
filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

From  hence  it  will  follow  of  course,  that  if  we  are 
justified  freely,  but  not  sanctified  wholly,  there  must  be 
some  flaw  in  our  faith,  in  regard  to  this  work;  either  we 
see  not  the  promises  in  question,  or,  if  we  see,  we  dis- 


86 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


credit  them;  or,  if  we  discredit  them  not,  we  do  not  em- 
brace  them.  So  that  this  will  be  a  very  proper  time  and 
place  for  examination  concerning  this  point.  And,  if  it 
will  help  the  reader  to  place  himself  fairly  in  the  scales 
of  the  Gospel,  which  are  daily  dependent  from  heaven 
for  purposes  like  this,  such  questions  as  the  following 
may  be  proposed,  and  such  answers  returned  as  the  pre- 
ponderating scale  of  the  balance  shall  be  found  to  supply. 
Am  I  persuaded  in  my  judgment  that  God  can  entirely 
sanctify  my  whole  nature  to  himself?  That  he  can  purge 
away  the  last  remains  of  sin,  and  make  me  holy  as  he  is 
holy?  Do  1  believe  he  is  willing  to  do  this?  Has  he 
promised  it  in  his  word?  And  do  1  believe  the  promise 
is  for  me,  even  for  me?  and  do  I  believe  he  is  able  to  do 
this  thing  for  me  now?  Do  I  believe  ail  this  fvlly?  or 
do  there  still  remain  in  me  some  lingering  traces  of  un- 
belief? If  there  be  nothing  wrong  thus  far,  we  may  pro- 
ceed to  the  affections  or  heart,  and  see  how  the  heart 
stands  affected  in  regard  to  this  point.  And  here,  per- 
haps, the  tumor  will  be  found.  We  see  the  blessing,  but 
shrink  from  it;  we  are  not  willing  to  receive  it  now,  not 
to-day,  but  at  some  future  time,  in  a  month,  a  year,  or 
so.  For  now  we  discover,  perhaps,  more  fully  and  more 
painfully  than  ever,  the  innate  depravity  of  our  nature; 
and  what,  in  all  likelihood,  we  least  of  all  thought  of, 
namely,  that  we  love  that  depravity;  love  it,  and  hate  it 
too:  we  are  a  mystery  to  ourselves,  and  our  inward  feel- 
ings confuse  and  confound  us;  for  we  find  ourselves  under 
the  strange  necessity  of  saying,  in  reference  to  some  in- 
bred corruption  or  other  still  lurking  within  us, 

"When  wilt  thou  my  whole  plague  remove? 
"  I  hate  it,  Lord,  and  yet  I  love;" 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


87 


and  of  continuing  tlie  same  melancholy  mournings  and 
complaints  in  some  such  language  as  this, 

"Make  me  willing  to  be  free, 
Eestless  to  be  saved  by  thee." 

For  although  we  see  the  necessity  of  entire  holiness  of 
heart,  we  find,  very  often,  that  we  are  not  willing  as 
God  is  willing,  and  that  we  can  rest,  and  do  rest,  in  our 
present  religious  attainments,  and  feel  too  little  anxiety 
for  purity  of  heart.  The  "secret  voice"  of  heaven 
daily  invites  us  to  prove  the  sweetness  of  this  yoke  of 
the  blessed  Redeemer,  and,  at  times,  the  will  seems 
fixed  upon  it,  yet  far  and  wide  our  passions  rove  after 
other  objects;  and  the  painful  reflections  excited  by 
these  mingled  feelings  and  emotions  of  soul  are  at 
length,  perhaps,  concluded  in  some  such  words  as  these, 
concerning  this  blessing: — 

"  Yet  hindrances  strew  all  the  way; 
1  AIM  at  this;  yet  from  it  stray." 

This,  then,  being  the  case,  our  faith  is  manifestly 
defective,  not  perhaps  in  regard  to  light  nor  conviction, 
but  in  regard  to  the  embracing  circumstance;  so  that 
we  need  to  have  recourse  to  such  means  of  grace  as 
God  has  ordained  for  "perfecting  that  which  concerneth 
our  faith."  Among  these  we  may  briefly  take  notice  of 
such  as  the  following: 

First.  A  closer  attention  to  the  oracles  of  God. 
That  "faith  cometh  by  hearing,"  is  attested  by  St. 
Paul.  The  same  thing  may  be  inferred  from  the  words 
of  St.  Peter,  "As  new-born  babes,  desire  the  sincere 


88 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby."  The 
whole  Christian,  it  seems,  that  is,  the  whole  of  the  inner 
or  new  man,  grows,  by  the  milk  of  the  word;  and  if  the 
whole  man  grows  then  faith  must  grow;  so  that  in  this 
way,  that  is,  by  desiring  or  using  freely  the  milk  of  the 
Gospel,  the  faith  of  the  babe  may  become  the  faith  of  a 
young  man;  while  that  of  the  young  man  becomes  the 
faith  of  a  father  in  Christ  Jesus.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  a  closer  attention  to  the  word  of  God,  of  a  more 
pious  and  devout  application  to  the  sacred  page.  Its 
doctrines  must  be  better  understood;  those  especially 
which  belong  to  entire  holiness.  The  soul  must  be 
filled  with  light,  not  satisfied  with  sounds  and  with 
words,  the  meaning  of  which  is  not  understood.  And 
we  should  be  especially  careful  to  know  the  design  for 
which  Jesus  came  into  the  world,  which  was,  to  "re- 
deem us  from  all  iniquity,"  to  "save  us  from  our  sins." 
The  evidences  of  this  should  be  sought  after  with  dili- 
gence in  every  department  of  the  inspired  page,  and  the 
terms  and  the  phraseology  of  those  passages  which 
directly  refer  to  it,  or  at  all  bear  upon  it,  fully  explored; 
and  if  this  plan  were  adopted,  the  stream  of  evidence, 
like  the  waters  of  Ezekiel,  would  so  widen  and  deepen 
at  every  step,  as  very  soon  to  become  "waters  to  swim 
in, — a  river  that  could  not  be  passed  over."  In  the 
mean  time,  our  faith  and  hope  would  grow  apace,  and 
the  loveliness  of  the  blessing  so  gain  our  affections  as  to 
lead  us  to  embrace  it  with  all  our  heart.  But  in  order 
to  attain  to  this  very  desirable  state  of  mind,  other 
means,  besides  that  of  increased  attention  to  the  word, 
must  be  used  by  us.  Hence  I  proceed  to  notice. 
Secondly.  Prayer  to  God  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATIOX. 


Ghost.  The  showers  of  spring  are  needful  to  the  ger- 
mination of  seed  and  ripening  of  corn  in  the  field;  yet 
not  more  so  than  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  to  the 
growth  of  the  gospel-seed,  and  the  ripening  of  faith  in 
the  souls  of  men.  And  hence  the  necessity  of  prayer, 
that  those  influences  of  the  Spirit  may  be  richly  ob- 
tained. And  to  encourage  us  in  this  duty,  the  Re- 
deemer declares,  that  "our  heavenly  Father  will  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him."  (Luke  xi,  13.) 
So  that  we  may  confidently  ask  this  blessing  from  God. 

But  then  our  prayers,  to  be  successful,  must  be  sin- 
cere. Care  must  be  taken  lest  our  hearts  should  not 
desire  what  our  flnent  lips  request.  They  must  be 
urgent  also;  the  desire  should  be  strong,  glowing,  fer- 
vent; like  the  pleadings  of  Israel,  when  Esau  was  coming 
to  meet  him  with  four  hundred  armed  men.  They  must 
possess  another  property  also,  I  mean  that  of  persever- 
ance. For  truly,  in  matters  of  such  infinite  importance, 
it  is  not  enough  to  pray  once,  or  twice,  or  thrice;  we 
should  ask  again  and  again,  till  the  blessing  be  received. 
And  to  encourage  ourselves  in  this  duty,  we  may  re- 
member how  God  has  honored  prayer  by  remarkable 
outpourings  of  his  blessings  and  grace,  and  by  enriching 
the  suppliants  at  his  throne  with  every  thing  good.  I 
wonld  refer  the  reader,  in  proof  of  this  assertion,  to  the 
cases  of  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  (Num.  xiv,  20,)  Elijah 
during  the  famine  in  Israel,  (1  Kings,  xvii,  1;  xviii,  42; 
James  v,  17,  18,)  and  Daniel  in  Babylon,  (Dan.  ii,  18 — 
23;  ix,  3,  20,  ult.;)  besides  various  others  in  the  Old 
Testament,  as  well  as  in  the  New.  All  which  show  the 
wonderful  efficacy  of  prayer,  when  sincerely  and  earn- 
estly presented  to  God.  And  if  more  examples  than 
9 


90 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


these  would  be  necessary  to  encourage  our  hope,  and 
strengthen  our  faith,  in  the  power  and  efficacy  of  prayer, 
there  are  various  incidents  in  the  life  of  our  blessed 
Redeemer  that  might  have  the  effect;  his  transfiguration 
upon  mount  Tabor  may  be  mentioned  as  one. 

St.  Luke's  account  of  this  surprising  incident,  though 
he  relates  not  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  is  re- 
markably interesting.  But  the  substance,  at  least,  of 
the  whole  case,  as  given  by  the  four  Evangelists,  may 
be  related  thus:  "Jesus  took  Peter  and  John  and 
James,  and  went  up  into  a  mountain  to  pray.  And,  as 
he  prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was  altered, 
for  he  was  transfigured  before  them,  and  his  face  shone 
as  the  sun:  also  his  raiment,  by  the  excessive  glory  of 
his  person,  became  efllilgent,  exceeding  luminous,  and 
white  as  the  snow,  or  even  as  the  light.  And  while  he 
contmued  in  this  state,  lo,  Moses  and  Elias  appeared 
with  him,  and  they  also  were  in  a  state  of  splendor  and 
glory;  and  both  Moses  and  Elias  talked  with  Jesus  con- 
cerning the  death  he  should  die  at  Jerusalem.  In  the 
mean  while  a  bright  cloud  descended  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  overshadowing  them  all;  and  a  voice  out  of 
the  cloud,  from  the  excellent  glory,  was  distinctly  heard, 
which  said.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  hear  him."  A 
scene  more  grand,  sublime,  or  interesting  to  the  head  or 
heart  of  a  Christian,  than  this  is,  cannot  be  conceived, 
nor  one  which  stamps  honor  and  importance  more  visibly 
on  prayer;  for  it  was  while  Jesus  prayed  that  the  fashion 
of  his  countenance  was  altered,  and  the  glorious  trans- 
figuration of  his  person  took  place.  But  leaving  the 
reader  to  make  such  other  observations  upon  this  case 
as  he  may  think  proper,  I  will  only  add  this,  that  if  God 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


91 


honored  the  prayers  of  his  Son,  in  this  remarkable  way, 
it  was  partly,  if  not  solely,  on  our  account,  and  intended 
especially  to  show,  that  if  we  wish  for  that  faith  which 
transforms  and  renews  the  immortal  spirit  within  us,  and 
add  prayer  to  our  attention  to  the  Scriptures,  sincere 
and  fervent  prayer,  we  may  confidently  hope  to  succeed, 
and  shall  finally  attain  all  the  fulness  of  grace.  Let  us 
now  proceed  to  observe, 

Thirdly.  That  in  seeking  to  strengthen  and  perfect 
our  faith,  family  devotion  must  not  be  neglected,  nor 
the  sacrifices  presented  on  the  domestic  altar  carelessly 
or  indifll-rently  presented  to  God.  The  like  may  be 
said  of  the  various  exercises  of  the  closet,  such  as  secret 
prayer,  reflection,  and  self-examination;  all  which  are  of 
infinite  importance  to  the  growth  and  perfection  of  our 
faith,  and  consequently  to  our  entire  deliverance  from 
indwelling  sin.  Nor  ought  we  to  say  less  concerning 
the  devout  and  serious  attendance  on  that  sacred  ordi- 
nance of  Christ,  usually  styled.  The  Lord's  Supper;  an 
ordinance  this  which  the  happy  experience  of  thousands, 
of  the  most  pious  and  sensible  Christians  on  earth,  might 
easily  be  brought  to  prove,  can  never  be  celebrated  in 
a  serious,  devout,  and  prayerful  state  of  mind,  but  faith 
must  increase  apace;  so  that  if  this  ordinance  be  duly 
attended  to,  both  as  to  the  frequency  and  manner  of  its 
celebration,  it  contributes  materially  towards  the  per- 
fection of  our  faith.  Although,  therefore,  it  is  very 
surprising  that  some  professors  of  religion,  who  are  not 
inattentive  to  other  means  of  grace,  should  have  ac- 
quired the  habit  of  inattention  to  this;  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing to  find  them  weak  in  faith,  subject  to  doubts  and 
fears,  and  making  but  slender  progress  in  holiness  of 


92 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


heart.  Nor  can  it  be  likely  at  all  that  they  should 
mend  their  condition,  unless  they  improve  their  prac- 
tice in  reference  to  this  thing,  nor  suffer  the  consecrated 
bread  and  the  cup,  those  sacred  memorials  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  to  cry  out  against  them  to  heaven 
of  shameful  neglect.  Let  the  Christian,  then,  carefully 
examine  himself  concerning  this  point;  and  if  he  find 
cause  to  reproach  his  own  acts,  and  to  accuse  his  own 
soul  of  deliberate  or  careless  neglect,  let  him  attribute 
the  low  stature  of  his  faith  unto  this  very  thing. 

Fourthly.  Another  tiling  needful  to  the  growth  of  our 
faith,  and  which  merits  considerable  attention  in  this 
place,  is  the  too  much  neglected  duty  of  fasting  or  absti- 
nence. I  have  ventured  to  speak  of  this  duty  as  too 
much  neglected;  for  if  a  practice,  that  has  had  the 
sanction  of  the  best,  the  wisest,  and  greatest  of  men,  in 
every  age  and  nation  of  the  world,  be  wilfully  neglected 
at  all,  we  may  venture  to  affirm,  it  is  neglected  too 
much;  and  that  fasting  or  abstinence  is  a  practice  of  this 
dignified  nature,  the  history  of  all  ages  and  nations 
would  probably  show.  Concerning  the  conduct  of  the 
ancient  pagans  in  regard  to  the  duty  of  fasting,  the  fol- 
lowing testimonies,  taken  from  vol.  iv,  p.  188,  of  the 
Roman  History,  by  Catrou  and  Rouille,  translated  by 
Bundy  into  English,  may  be  deemed  sufficient.  "That 
tiisting,"  say  these  reverend  historians,  "was  used  by 
the  pagans  at  such  times  as  they  were  laboring  to  avert 
the  anger  of  the  gods,  is  a  fact  attested  by  the  ancients. 
The  pagans,  says  Terfullian,  in  a  year  of  drought,  fl)' 
to  their  divinities,  to  obtain  of  them  plentiful  harvests, 
and  often  pray  to  them  for  rain.  Then  they  order 
public  processions,  in  which  all  who  assist  at  them  walk 


EXTIRE  SAXCTIFICATION. 


93 


barefoot.  The  magistrates  appear  in  a  state  of  humilia- 
tion, without  any  attendants  or  regalia.  They  make 
vows  to  procure  fruitfulness  to  their  fields,  and  sacrifice 
victims.  In  some  cities,  the  people  appear  every  year 
before  their  idols  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  these  ex- 
treme actions  of  repentance  are  accompanied  with  severe 
lasts.  Porphyry  tells  us,  that  the  Egyptians  used  to 
prepare  for  their  chief  feasts,  sometimes  by  fasting  con- 
tinually for  six  weeks  together.  The  Athenians  were 
obliged  to  be  flisting  when  they  sacrificed  to  the  muses. 
The  Italians  had  their  fasts  as  well  as  the  Greeks. 
According  to  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  the  inhabit- 
ants  of  Alba  fasted  for  a  great  while  together  after  the 
famous  combat  of  the  Horatii,  and  the  Curiatii."  If 
the  reader  be  disposed  to  consult  the  historians  from 
whom  I  have  taken  these  abridged  accounts,  he  will 
meet  with  much  more  of  the  same  kind  of  information, 
concerning  the  fasting  of  the  ancients.  And  to  the  pre- 
ceding cases,  that  of  the  Ninevites  may  properly  be 
appended,  as  we  find  it  recorded  in  the  oracles  of  God. 
(Jonah  iii,  5,  idt.) 

As  for  the  ancient  Jews,  and  the  Christians  also,  all 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  Bible  must  be  acquainted 
with  their  fasts,  which,  on  some  public  occasions,  were 
solemn  and  severe.  It  would  be  foreign  to  my  purpose 
to  swell  out  these  pages  with  citations,  even  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  concerning  the  necessity  and  import- 
ance of  fasting.  But  if  the  reader  will  examine  the 
following  texts  for  himself, — 1  Sam.  viii,  6;  Dan.  ix,  3; 
Esther  iv,  16;  Joel  ii,  12—20;  Matt,  ix,  15;  and  Acts 
xiv,  21 — 23, — he  will  see  the  vast  importance  which 
not  only  men  of  God,  but  God  also  himself,  attaches  to 
9* 


94 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  OK 


this  great  and  necessary  means  of  grace.  So  that  he 
naust  be  infinitely  proud  and  conceited  who  ventures  to 
breathe  odium  on  the  practice,  or  who  views  it  with  any 
other  feelings  but  such  as  it  becomes  us  to  cherish  for 
the  ordinances  of  God.  It  is  beyond  the  admission  of  a 
doubt,  that  the  Deity  has  a  right  to  prescribe  to  his 
creatures  the  way  they  should  serve  him,  and  the  means 
through  which  they  shall  seek  his  forfeited  grace;  and 
having  been  pleased  to  ordain  that  fasting  shall  be  one, 
and  engaged  to  meet  us  herein,  and  to  favor  us  with  his 
love  in  the  practice  of  this  duty,  it  would  ill  become  us, 
and  be  attended  with  danger  unspeakably  extreme,  to 
contemn  it  in  the  least;  for,  by  so  doing,  we  should 
quarrel  with  the  means  of  our  full  salvation,  and  contemn 
even  the  great  Jehovah  himself. 

Fifthly.  I  mention,  in  the  last  place,  the  constant 
performance  of  scriptural  good  works,  as  calculated  and 
appointed  by  God  to  improve  and  perfect  our  faith,  and 
so  lead  us  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  sanctity  of  heart. 
One  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  concerning  good  works 
is,  that  they  are  "good  and  profitable  to  men."  (Titus 
iii,  S.)  Now  if  good  works  are  profitable,  which  in 
company  with  St.  Paul  it  were  arrogance  to  doubt,  they 
must  be  so  in  one  of  the  following  ways; — by  meriting 
grace  and  favor  from  God,  which  cannot  be  allowed  to 
be  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul;  or  just  in  the  sense  in  which 
prayer,  reading,  hearing  the  word,  receiving  the  Supper 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  like,  are  profitable;  and  this  I  con- 
ceive to  be  the  meaning  of  the  text,  and  agreeable  to 
the  will  of  our  Lord  concerning  good  works.  If  any 
believe  they  are  not  profitable  in  this  sense,  they  may 
never  have  thought  on  the  subject  aright,  and  a  calm 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


95 


dispassionate  view  of  the  case  may  dissipate  those  clouds 
which  darken  and  obscure  it,  and  render  it  perceptible 
and  clear  to  the  mind.  The  origin  of  works  evangeli- 
caliy  good,  and  of  works  of  this  character  alone  do  1 
speak,  may,  without  hesitation,  be  called  divine;  they 
spring  not  from  nature,  but  grace  in  the  heart;  they  are 
the  fruit  of  the  Spirit;  the  planting  of  the  Lord  in  our 
nature;  the  pleasing  growth  of  that  holy  and  living  seed 
of  the  word,  which,  by  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  has  been 
sown  in  our  heart.  Or,  if  we  may  change  the  figure 
for  a  moment,  and  look  on  good  works  in  another,  but 
Dot  less  amiable  and  pleasing  light,  we  may  consider  the 
Christian  as  the  branch  of  an  olive-tree,  wild  by  nature, 
but  broken  from  the  tree  whereon  he  originally  grew, 
and  grafted  into  the  true  olive-tree,  even  into  Christ:  the 
foliage  and  the  fruit  which  bloom  and  ripen  upon  him, 
even  all  the  good  works  he  is  able  to  perform,  are  from 
the  root  and  the  fatness  of  the  olive-tree  upon  which  he 
now  grows.  So  that  every  good  work  may  in  this  way 
be  ascribed  to  the  power  and  influence  of  grace  in  the 
heart.  And,  as  genuine  good  works  spring  from  grace 
in  the  soul,  and  cannot  be  justly  attributed  to  any  other 
caase;  so,  like  the  fruit  and  foliage  of  trees,  which  con- 
tribute to  their  own  growth  and  that  of  the  stems  that 
bear  them  by  absorbing  the  moisture  of  rains  and  dews, 
and  the  warming  and  genial  rays  of  the  sun,  do  they 
powerfully  tend  to  increase  that  faith  and  holiness  of 
soul  from  the  which  they  are  found  invariably  to  spring; 
nor  can  these  be  ripened  to  perfection  in  any  other  way. 
They  are  a  high  and  important  medium  of  communica- 
tion between  God  and  his  people;  between  the  great 
Head  of  the  church  and  the  members  of  his  mystical 


96 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


body,  through  which  the  spirit  of  grace  flows  down- 
ward, until  life  and  vigor,  vitality  and  perfection,  swell 
out  every  member  into  beautiful  proportion,  and  the 
image  of  Messiah  appears  in  the  whole. 

But  as  the  view  we  are  taking  of  good  works  is  im- 
portant to  the  subject  in  hand,  we  must  enlarge  upon  it 
a  little,  and  solicit  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  two  or 
three  things.  First.  It  is  confirmed  by  the  experience 
of  the  truly  pious  and  good,  who  find  their  faith  to 
strengthen  the  most  when  most  in  the  steady  perform- 
ance of  good  works;  proving  the  truth  of  that  scriptural 
declaration,  "Whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of 
liberty  and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful 
hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work;  this  man  shall  be  blessed 
IN  his  deed?''  Secondly.  The  case  of  professors  who 
neglect  the  performance  of  good  works  will  undeniably 
appear  to  prove  the  same  thing.  Do  these  not  always 
complain  of  barrenness  of  soul?  lose  the  savor  of  grace? 
the  evidence  of  their  acceptance?  their  peace?  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost?  So  that  while  they  retain  the  pro- 
fession of  religion,  it  is  but  the  'semblance  of  worth,  not 
substance,'  the  mere  shadow  of  life  and  grace;  for  the 
flower  is  faded  away,  and  dropped  from  the  stem  on 
which  it  formerly  grew.  Thirdly.  The  necessity  that 
such  persons  as  we  have  last  been  mentioning  are  under 
of  returning  to  their  former  good  works,  in  order  to 
regain  their  forfeited  piety  and  peace,  and  to  prevent 
the  little  good  which  remains  from  being  taken  entirely 
away,  (Rev.  ii,  5,)  is  proof  of  the  same  thing;  and  so 
likewise  is  that  remarkable  saying,  "Blessed  are  they 
which  do  his  commandrnents,  that  they  may  have  right 
to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION, 


97 


into  the  city."  (Rev.  xxii,  14.)  Right,  by  virtue  of  the 
Divine  appointment;  that  those  who  perform  evangelical 
good  worlis  shall  thereby  find,  even  now,  while  on  earth, 
access  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  prove  that  its  very  leaves 
are  "for  the  healing  of  the  nations," — for  the  ripening 
and  perfecting  of  that  faith  which  worketh  by  love  and 
purifies  the  heart. 

I  cannct  dismiss  the  subject  of  good  works  tending 
to  ripen  to  maturity  our  faith,  and  so  leading  us  on  to 
the  full  and  perpetual  possession  of  purity  of  heart,  till 
I  have  noticed  the  case  of  "the  friend  of  God."  Doubt- 
less that  venerable  man  had  great  faith  in  Jehovah  before 
he  was  called  to  offer  up  his  son.  But  however  noble 
and  perfect,  in  some  respects,  the  faith  of  that  venerable 
man  might  have  been  before  the  transaction  in  question 
took  place,  there  was  one  sense,  at  least,  in  which  it 
was  manifestly  imperfect,  until  the  day  and  the  hour 
that  he  ofl^jred  up  his  son.  But  while  actually  engaged 
in  the  performance  of  that  work,  and  yielding  to  God 
the  most  stupendous  obedience  to  his  will,  let  the  reader 
observe  how  the  Deity  condescends  to  meet  him  in  the 
very  act  of  obedience,  and  bless  him  in  his  deed!  "By 
myself  have  I  sworn,"  said  Jehovah,  "that  in  blessing 
I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy 
seed,"  and  the  like,  of  which  the  reader  will  find,  in  the 
twenty-second  chapter  of  Genesis,  a  full  and  remarkably 
interesting  account.  But  what  I  have  to  notice  con- 
cerning it  is  this,  that  although  the  blessing  particularly 
specified  there  contained  a  number  of  interesting  things, 
it  was  certainly  personal  in  regard  to  the  venerable 
patriarch  himself: — in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  said  the 
Lord,  and  I  will  also  greatly  multiply  thy  seed;  and  that 


98 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


the  personal  blessing  of  Abraham  had  respect  to  his 
faith,  to  the  increase  and  perfection  of  it,  and  also, 
through  the  perfection  of  his  faith,  to  the  increase  and 
perfection  of  his  holiness  of  heart  and  lite,  appears 
highly  probable,  if  not  absolutely  certain,  from  what  the 
apostle  St.  James  advances  on  the  subject.  "Seest 
thou,"  says  he,  when  calling  the  attention  of  his  readers 
to  this  very  act,  and  to  the  etTect  which  it  produced  on 
the  patriarch's  faith,  "seest  thou  how  faith  wrought 
with  his  works,  and  bij  works  was  Jaith  made  perfect.'" 
The  faith  which  he  previously  had,  gave  birth  to  this 
noblest  act  of  obedience,  and  that  act,  in  return,  gave 
so  noble  a  spring,  so  divine  and  elevating  impulse  to 
his  faith,  that  what  it  still  needed  was  instantly  attained 
by  a  most  copious  descent  of  grace  to  his  soul.  And 
hence  one  cannot  but  observe  two  things.  First.  That, 
after  this  period  of  his  life,  we  hear  no  more  of  those 
doubts  and  misgivings,  which  had  marked  some  fore- 
going steps  of  this  venerable  man.  Secondly.  That 
great  personal  sacrifices  and  acts  of  obedience  to  God 
are  special  occasions  of  the  increase  of  faith  in  those 
who  love  God;  and  not  unfrequently,  perhaps,  the  very 
means  which,  above  all  others,  we  need,  to  perfect  our 
faith,  and  fully  sanctify  us  to  God. 

Having  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  means  to  be  employed 
in  order  to  obtain  tlie  blessing  in  question;  having  no- 
ticed faith  as  the  first  and  principal,  and  reading,  prayer, 
fasting,  and  the  like,  together  with  good  works,  as  ne- 
cessary to  increase  and  perfect  our  faith,  that  it  may 
wholly  sanctify  our  nature,  and  lead  to  entire  holiness 
of  life  and  of  heart;  there  are  two  ot  three  additional 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


99 


remarks  which  it  seems  needful  to  make  in  this  depart- 
ment of  my  work. 

The  first  is,  we  must  not  prescribe  to  the  Almighty 
the  time,  manner,  place,  or  means  of  grace,  in  which 
our  souls  shall  be  filled  with  spotless  purity  and  love. 
In  the  foregoing  chapter  we  have  seen,  that  God  is  in 
his  word,  in  his  providence,  and  every  means  of  grace; 
that  he  visits  us  in  them  all,  and  puts  forth  his  power 
through  them  all,  and  makes  all  of  them  the  mediums 
of  his  bounty,  the  almoners  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  of 
the  richer  energies  of  his  sanctifying  grace;  so  that  we 
ought  to  expect  these  richer  benefits  in  every  means  of 
grace  and  occurrence  of  Providence,  and  rise  on  the 
wing  of  desire  and  hope  till  they  enter  fully  into  our 
souls,  and  our  entire  nature  becomes  sanctified  to  God. 

Another  remark  I  would  offer  is  this,  that  as  God 
can  visit  and  does  visit  us  in  all  those  means  of  grace 
which  he  requires  us  to  use,  and  as  none  of  us  can  tell 
in  which  of  these  means  it  may  please  him  to  visit  and 
bless  us  the  most;  so  we  should  use  them  all,  as  we 
have  time  and  opportunity,  without  preferring  one  before 
another;  resting  assured  of  this,  that  God  will  certainly 
visit  us,  sooner  or  later,  and  so 

"Scatter  the  last  remains  ot  sin," 

as  to  make  both  our  souls  and  bodies  the  glorious  and 
holy  temples  of  the  ever  blessed  God. 

The  last  remark  1  would  offer  in  this  place  is  this, 
that  if  the  reader  has  read  and  prayed  much  for  this 
blessinw,  used  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  like,  in  order 
to  obtain  it,  and  after  all  finds  not  the  Spirit  bearing 


100 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


witness  with  his  spirit  that  he  is  cleansed  from  all  sin, 
let  hitn  pause  and  inquire  whether  he  has,  or  has  not, 
Ijeen  "partial  in  the  law,"  slighting  some  of  the  means 
of  grace,  while  constantly  and  zealously  attending  to  all 
the  rest,-  whether  he  has  not,  for  example,  neglected  the 
manifest  duties  so  stiikingly  brought  under  our  notice 
in  the  following  remarkable  words:  "If  ye  loose  the 
bands  of  wickedness,  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  let  the 
oppressed  go  free,  and  break  every  yoke;  if  ye  deal 
your  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  bring  the  poor  that  are 
cast  out  to  your  house;  if  ye  cover  the  naked  when  ye 
see  him,  and  hide  not  yourselves  from  your  own  flesh: 
<Aen,"  says  the  prophet,  shall  ye  be  sanctified  wholly, 
"i/ie?),"  when  ye  do  these  things  which  God  commands 
you  to  do,  and  are  no  more  partial  in  the  la\y, 
shall  your  light  break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  your 
health  shall  spring  forth  speedily:  and  your  righteous- 
ness shall  go  before  you,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  your  reward;  then  shall  ye  call,  and  the  Lord 
will  answer,  and  ye  shall  cry,  and  he  shall  say.  Here  I 
am;" — yea,  "your  light,"  the  prophet  proceeds,  "shall 
rise  in  obscurity,  and  your  darkness  shall  be  as  the  noon- 
day: and  the  Lord  shall  guide  you  continually,  and 
satisfy  your  souls  in  drought,  and  make  fat  your  bones: 
and  ye  shall  be  like  a  well-watered  garden,  like  a  spring 
of  water,  whose  waters  fail  not."  (Isai.  Iviii,  6 — 11.) 
Let  him  pause  and  inquire,  I  repeat,  whether  he  has 
been  practically  attentive  to  this  language  as  he  ought. 
For  it  is  impossible  to  doubt,  without  questioning  the 
Divine  veracity,  that  any  person  can  long,  and  properly, 
do  all  these  things,  and  not  obtain  the  choicest  blessings 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


101 


of  grace.  "Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away;  but  my 
words,"  says  Jesus,  "shall  not  pass  away." 

Before  I  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close,  a  word  or  two 
may  be  added,  by  way  of  further  inducement  to  the 
reader  to  seek,  with  diligence,  this  blessing  from  God; 
and  as  my  remarks  upon  the  inducements  about  to  be 
mentioned  will  be  very  concise,  the  reader,  I  hope,  will 
do  himself  the  justice  not  to  hurry  them  over,  but  suffer 
his  thoughts  to  dwell  upon  them,  and  allow  them  to 
swell  and  enlarge  his  whole  mind.  And  having  said 
this,  1  proceed  to  observe, 

First.  That  the  glory  of  God  the  Father  is  involved 
in  this  subject.  "Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,"  says 
Jesus,  "that  ye  bear  much  fruit."  Entire  sanctificatiou 
is  the  only  thing  by  which  the  Christian  can  "let  his 
light  so  shine  before  men,"  as  thereby  to  "glorify  his 
Father  who  is  in  heaven,"  as  he  ought  always  to  do. 
And  can  the  reader  be  willing  to  withhold  from  so  kind, 
so  merciful,  so  good  a  father,  as  is  our  heavenly  Father, 
any  part  of  that  just  revenue  of  glory  which  we  should 
ever  be  most  anxious  to  pay  unto  him! 

Secondly.  The  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  Christ 
is  involved  in  this  subject.  Where  sanctification  is  not, 
the  virtue  of  his  blood  is  not,  and  there,  of  course,  it 
cannot  be  seen;  but  where  sanctification  exists  in  any 
degree,  to  the  same  degree  is  the  virtue  of  the  atone- 
ment visible,  and  it  is  most  visible  where  sanctification 
is  complete.  Thus  the  completely  sanctified  reflect  most 
of  the  honor  and  glory  of  Christ. 

Thirdly.  The  glory  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  involved  in 
this  subject.  The  beauty  or  glory  of  an  edifice  re- 
dounds to  the  honor  of  the  builder;  and  in  this  sense 
10 


102 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


"the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handy-work."  In  the  same  kind 
of  way  is  the  glory  of  the  Holy  Spirit  seen  in  the 
pleasing  spring,  when  he  "renews  the  face  of  nature," 
(Ps.  civ,  30,  31,)  and  causes  his  beauty,  tenderness,  and 
love,  to  walk  smiling  through  the  earth,  and  to  pour  life 
and  felicity  on  all  that  live  below.  But  more  than  in 
the  face  of  the  earth,  when  dressed  in  vernal  glory,  and 
more  than  in  the  spacious  heavens,  though  bespangled 
with  orient  gold,  does  the  glory  of  tiie  Spirit  of  God 
appear  in  man,  when,  by  his  mighty  energy,  he  is 
changed,  and  restored  to  that  holy  and  happy  condition 
in  which  entire  sanctification  appears  to  consist. 

Fourthly.  The  glory  of  the  church  is  involved  in  this 
subject.  Sublime  or  splendid  edifices,  pompous  and 
imposing  ceremoniesj  vast  treasures  and  wealth,  the 
talents  of  the  priesthood,  the  elevated  condition  of  the 
members  of  the  church;  the  antiquity,  unity,  or  univer- 
sality of  the  church,  nor  its  connexion  with  diadems  or 
thrones;  these  things,  I  say,  form  no  part  of  the  real 
essential  glory  of  the  Church  of  God;  it  consisteth  in 
quite  another  thing,  in  that  which  is  imperishable  as  the 
throne  of  God  itself,  even  in  the  resemblance  or  image 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Hence  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
the  transformation  of  the  Christian  into  this  image  of 
Christ  as  a  change  into  glory,  and  of  every  increase  of 
that  image  in  the  soul  as  a  change  "from  glory  to  glory, 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  (2  Cor.  iii,  18.)  And  agree- 
able to  this  is  what  the  same  Apostle  advances  in  another 
place,  where  he  speaks  of  the  church  of  Christ  being 
a  '^glorious  church,''''  when  so  sanctified  and  cleansed  as 
not  to  have  "spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,"  being 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


103 


made  "holy  and  without  blemish."  (Eph.  v,  27.)  1 
have  had  occasion  to  mention  this  last  passage  before  in 
tlie  course  of  this  work,  and  introduce  it  again  merely 
to  show,  that  the  true  glory  of  the  church  consists  in 
entire  sanciificalion,  and  that  in  proportion  as  this  is 
wanting,  the  glory  of  the  church  is  nothing  but  a  name. 

Fifthly.  The  degree  of  pleasure  which  the  Deity 
takes  in  iiis  saints  is  regulated  by  the  degree  of  sancti- 
fying grace  which  they  severally  possess.  That  in  the 
whiter  robes  of  his  saints  the  Deity  should  take  a  more 
than  ordmary  pleasure,  is  reasonable  to  be  believed, 
because  in  thern  he  sees  most  of  the  blood  of  his  Son. 
If  John  was  "the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved"  above  the 
rest,  it  was  because  he  had  been  oftener  at  the  fountain 
of  "water  and  blood"  than  the  rest;  so  that  looking  on 
him,  the  Redeemer  saw  more  of  the  "travail  of  his  soul" 
than  in  Andrew  or  Simon,  and  was  better  "satisfied"  on 
that  account,  according  to  the  language  of  the  prophet^ 
(Is.  liii,  11.)  This  is  a  good  and  rational,  as  well  as  a 
scriptural,  account  of  the  cause  of  the  superior  love  of 
the  Redeemer  toward  John,  and  unfolds  to  us  the  true 
and  the  only  way  of  finding  nearness  of  access  to  the 
Redeemer,  and  of  lying  in  his  bosom  from  day  to  day. 

Sixthly.  Our  present  felicity  is  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  of  sanctification  we  enjoy,  as  appears  from  the 
words  of  Christ  concerning  the  joy  of  his  disciples. 
They  were  partially  sanctified  at  the  time  to  which  1 
am  now  referring,  and  their  joy  was  partial  accordingly. 
Jesus,  therefore,  bids  them  "ask  and  receive,  that  their 
joy  might  be  /mZZ."  Reader,  is  thy  joy  not  full?  Per- 
haps not,  perhaps  not  half  full,  nor  a  fiftieth  part.  O 
then  be  wise,  and  know  that  even  grace  itself  can  never 


104 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


fill  thee  with  happiness  till  it  entirely  fill  and  rule  thy 
heart. 

In  the  last  place  I  would  observe,  that  not  only  the 
measure  of  our  future  felicity,  but  our  entering  it  at  all, 
depends  on  our  gaining  this  fulness  of  grace.  "Without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  But  what  then 
will  become  of  one  who  is  justified,  if  he  die  before  the 
process  of  sanctification  is  complete!  As  this  question 
has  occasionally  been  proposed,  we  may  just  in  passing 
observe,  that  it  is  grounded  on  the  supposition  of  a  fact 
that  cannot  take  place.  One  who  is  justified,  must 
either  go  on  to  perfection,  or  lose  his  justification;  the 
divine  favor  cannot  be  retained  till  death,  save  by  those 
who  are  looking  for  purity  of  heart.  So  that  if  those 
who  are  truly  seeking  it  should  suddenly  die,  a  sudden 
preparation  for  death  shall  take  place;  God  will  remem- 
ber his  promise,  and  "cut  short  his  work  in  righteous- 
ness, and  make  a  speedy  end  of  sin  in  the  soul."  The 
remains  of  the  leprosy  shall  be  cleansed  with  a  word, 
and  stains  of  crimson  made  whiter  than  wool.  But 
what  will  all  this  avail  those  who  are  living  in  the 
habitual  neglect  of  sanctifying  grace?  If,  indeed,  the 
Almighty,  of  his  abundant  mercy,  will  continue  to  these 
his  favor,  it  would  be  arrogance  in  me  to  deny  them  the 
comfort  of  it.  But  if  the  salt  may  "lose  its  savor," 
such  persons,  certainly,  expose  their  future  felicity  to 
danger,  and  may  have  cause  to  repent  of  their  conduct 
when  contrition  and  tears  can  answer  no  end. 

But  should  they  be  wholly  sanctified  at  last,  and  so 
be  admitted  to  glory  at  death,  their  lustre  will  be  less 
than  the  lustre  of  those  who  exceeded  them  in  piety 
and  grace  while  on  earth.    "As  one  star  difiereth  from 


ENTIHE  SANCTIFICATION. 


105 


another  star  in  glory,  so  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead."  This  is  spoken  by  St.  Paul  of  the  body.  But 
if  there  shall  be  so  vast  a  difference  in  the  glory  of  the 
bodies  of  the  children  of  God  in  eternity,  lor  the  same 
reason  there  must  be  a  difference,  equally  great,  in  the 
degrees  of  glory  possessed  by  the  immortal  spirits  to 
which  those  bodies  respectively  belong;  and  the  princi- 
pal reason  of  this  vast  difference  will  probably  be  the 
different  degrees  of  grace  which  they  sought  after  and 
enjoyed,  while  wandering  as  strangers  and  pilgrims  on 
earth.  And  to  what  amazing  heights  of  glory  it  is 
possible  to  rise  at  last,  by  vast  communion  with  the 
Deity  while  on  earth;  or  how  dim  and  feeble  our  lustre 
may  be,  in  consequence  of  the  littleness  of  our  piety 
on  earth,  it  is  not  possible  at  present  for  man  to  con- 
ceive. The  light  of  a  glow-worm,  which  can  only  be 
seen  on  a  dark  night,  is  feeble  indeed,  compared  with 
that  of  the  sun,  whose  glory  quenches  the  stars,  and 
streams  to  inconceivable  lengths  in  the  iznmensity  of 
space;  and  so  feeble,  compared  with  what  it  might  have 
been,  and  compared  with  that  of  others,  may  be  the 
everlasting  glory  of  some  of  the  followers  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  But  I  will  now  pause,  and  let  the  reader 
reflect  for  himself,  as  enough  has  already  been  advanced, 
not  only  to  mark  out  the  way  of  seeking  the  blessing  in 
question,  but  to  induce  the  reader,  if  any  thing  can  in- 
duce him,  to  be  in  earnest  with  God  to  obtain  it,  and  to 
rest  not,  day  or  night,  till  he  shall  crown  him  with  mercy, 
and  fill  him  with  the  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ. 


10* 


106 


A   FRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THH    DOCTRINE    OF   ENTIRE    SA  NOTIFICATION  EXEM- 
PLIFIED. 

Having  proceeded  thus  far  in  the  discussion  of  this 
interesting  subject,  it  will  be  proper  now  to  introduce 
to  the  notice  of  the  reader  a  few  cases  of  persons  who 
appear  to  the  author  to  have  Hved  in  the  possession  of 
this  great  and  inestimable  blessing,  and  to  have  shown 
in  their  lives  its  fruit  to  the  world. 

I  must,  however,  premise  one  thing  which  is  this, 
that  I  do  not  introduce  the  following  cases  as  proofs  of 
the  doctrine  in  question,  or  as  the  measure  of  all  pos- 
sible attainments  in  grace;  for  the  privileges  of  the 
saints  are  not  to  be  measured  by  the  actual  attainments 
of  Peter,  James,  or  John,  or  any  one  else  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  but  by  the  doctrines  and  promises  of  the 
Bible  concerning  this  point;  so  that  if  the  reader  should 
happen  to  think  that  any,  or  all,  of  the  persons  about  to 
be  named,  should  not  be  cases  in  point,  and  should  even 
be  able  to  prove,  with  the  utmost  clearness  and  truth, 
that  they  never  enjoyed,  at  any  period  of  life,  entire 
purity  of  heart,  it  will  not  affect  the  doctrine  at  all,  or 
move  it  from  its  sure  foundation — the  promises  of  God. 
Requesting  the  reader  will  keep  this  in  mind,  I  will  in- 
troduce to  his  notice  a  few  of  those  honorable  names 
that  stand  written  in  illuminated  characters  in  the  pages 
of  imperishable  truth. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


107 


Abel  and  Enoch  deservedly  come  first.  The  former 
is  honored  by  Christ  with  the  appellation  of  "righteous;" 
and  God  "bore  witness  that  he  was  righteous  by  testi- 
fying of  his  gifts."  And  this  righteousness  was  not 
merely  imputed,  for,  St.  John  assures  us,  "his  works 
were  righteous,"  which  could  not  have  been,  had  his 
heart  been  polluted  with  indwelling  sin.  As  for  the 
venerable  Enoch,  "He  was  not  only  sincerely  obedient 
to  God,"  says  Bishop  Patrick,  "but  of  an  extraordinary 
sanctity,  beyond  the  rate  of  other  holy  men;  and  held 
0!i  also  in  a  long  course  of  such  singular  piety,  notwith- 
standing the  wickedness  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived." 
He  was  then  "translated  that  he  should  not  see  death. 
But  before  his  translation,  he  had  this  testimony,  that  he 
pleased  God."  If  any  thing  be  wanting  to  finish  this 
picture  of  consummate  piety,  it  is  fully  supplied  in  this 
saying,  that  "Enoch  walked  with  God." 

Noah  comes  next  to  our  view,  "Just"  and  "perfect 
in  his  generations;"  and  Noah  also  "walked  with  God." 
Noah,  it  is  true,  was  once,  during  a  life  of  nearly  a 
thousand  years,  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  having  drunk 
too  freely  of  the  wine  which  the  bounty  of  heaven  so 
kindly  supplied.  Nor  can  we,  as  some  pretend,  ex- 
tenuate this  fault  by  the  improbable  supposition,  that 
he  knew  not  the  strength  of  the  juice  of  the  grape. 
Yet,  can  malice  itself  weave  this  fault  into  a  web,  that 
shall  hide  from  our  vision  the  whole  of  his  life,  and  prove 
that  he  never  was  "perfect"  through  grace,  "walking" 
in  intimate  union  "with  God?" 

The  amiable  Joseph  stands  charged  with  vice,  and 
so  did  the  blessed  Redeemer  himself;  but  was  it  not 
virtue,  in  both  of  these  cases,  which  malice  and  igno- 


108 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


ranee  supposed  was  vice?  The  evil  alleged  against 
Joseph  is  this.  During  the  famine  in  Egypt  he  was 
favorable,  it  is  said,  to  the  Egyptian  priesthood,  (sup- 
posed to  have  been  idolaters,)  and  even  formed  an 
alliance  with  them,  by  marrying  the  daughter  of  the 
priest  of  On.  But  shall  the  fragrance  of  his  piety  be 
dissipated  thus?  or  the  mantle  of  his  purity  trampled 
in  the  dust,  by  such  rash  and  unthinking  conclusions  as 
this?  Ought  it  not  to  be  proved,  rather  than  presumed, 
that  the  priests  or  princes  in  question  (for  it  seems  they 
were  both)  were  idolatrous  priests?  And  must  it  ik>{  be 
proved  that  the  lady  whom  Joseph  took  for  his  wife,  was 
an  idolater  at  the  time  they  were  married,  before  it  can 
be  proved  that  the  marriage  was  wrong?  But  who  will 
be  able  to  establish  these  things?  For  if  the  land  of 
Canaan  itself,  the  most  wicked  of  nations  in  those 
ancient  times,  retained  in  its  bosom  a  "priest  of  the  most 
high  God"  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  (Gen.  xiv,  18; 
Heb.  vii,  1,)  why  might  not  the  priest  of  On  be  a  priest 
of  the  same  kind?  Dr.  Delany,  whose  authority  is  great 
in  matters  of  this  kind,  supposes  idolatry  was  not  the 
religion  of  the  priesthood  of  Egypt  while  Joseph  had 
any  authority  in  that  land.  The  Doctor's  own  words 
(Revelation  Examined,  vol.  iii,  p.  190)  are  as  follows: 
"That  idolatry,"  says  he,  "prevailed  in  the  world  amaz- 
ingly early,  is  beyond  a  doubt;  and  that  it  reached 
Egypt,  before  the  days  of  Joseph,  there  is  too  much 
reason  to  believe;  but  that  it  continued  with  the  Egyp- 
tian priesthood  after  his  alliance  with  them,  is  altogether 
incredible."  The  Doctor  very  justly  supposes,  that  so 
good  a  man  as  Joseph  would  certainly  use  his  influence 
in  support  of  the  true  religion,  wherever  he  found  it,  and 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


109 


in  suppressing  idolatry  of  every  kind;  and  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  gather,  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  truth,  that 
this  great  and  enlightened  statesman  actually  employed 
his  authority  in  this  very  way. 

It  has  already  been  hinted,  that  the  princes  or  sena- 
tors of  Egypt,  and  the  priests,  were  the  same  order  of 
men — a  supposition  which  the  general  practice  of  anti- 
quity, in  regard  to  religion,  will  readily  support;  and 
we  may  now  remark  concerning  the  term  "wisdom," 
which  will  immediately  be  perceived  to  bear  upon  this 
point,  that,  as  it  is  used  in  the  Scriptures,  and  especially 
in  the  Psalms  of  David,  it  comprehends  the  knowledge 
and  worship  of  God.  When,  therefore,  it  is  said  (Ps.  cv,) 
that  Joseph  "bound  the  princes  of  Pliaraoh  at  pleasure, 
and  taught  his  senators  wisdom,"  and  the  like,  the  con- 
clusion, in  favor  of  Joseph  is  clear  as  the  light.  If  he 
found  the  senators  or  priesthood  of  Egypt  idolaters, 
(which  must  not  be  conceded  to  any  thing  but  proof,) 
his  wisdom  and  authority  were  employed  to  make  them 
adorers  of  the  living  and  true  God — a  circumstance  this 
of  the  highest  importance  to  the  character  of  Joseph,  a 
pedestal  of  honor,  which  lifts  him  to  the  summit  of  piety 
and  religion,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  his  accusers  among 
men.  Those  who  think  little  concerning  the  character 
of  Joseph  may  have  narrow  conceptions  of  his  piety  and 
grace;  but  those  who  examine  it  throughout,  never  can. 
When  we  first  find  him  in  Egypt,  though  young  and  in 
chains,  even  his  master  could  see  that  "Jehovah  was 
with  him."  His  whole  conduct  in  the  house  of  his 
master,  and  particularly  the  afliiir  of  hi^i  mistress,  was 
proof  of  amazir.g  piety  of  heart.  And  when  wrong- 
fully accused  by  the  rage  of  disappointed  passion,  and 


110 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


sent  to  the  dungeon  in  fetters  and  chains,  still  his  "God 
was  with  him"  indeed,  and  he,  in  return,  confesses  and 
cleaves  to  his  God.  I  need  not  refer  to  the  chapters  in 
Genesis,  where  the  reader  will  meet  with  proofs  of  all 
this;  nor  yet  to  those  places  where  Joseph  appears  in 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  teaching  even  Pharaoh  him- 
self the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  with  a  mixture  of  the 
mdst  amiable  courage  and  humility  which  nothing  but 
purity  of  heart  could  inspire.  "The  dream  of  Pharaoh," 
says  he,  "is  one.  God  hath  shown  Pharaoh  what  he 
is  about  to  do:" — "it  is  because  the  thing  is  established 
by  God,  and  God  will  shortly  bring  it  to  pass."  But,  I 
find,  I  am  going  too  far  into  these  pleasing  meditations, 
and  must  not  proceed.  But  if  boundless  benevolence 
of  heart,  tender  mercy,  justice,  the  strictest  chastity, 
fraternal  and  filial  kindness,  faith,  hope,  love,  both  to 
God  and  man;  if  these  singular  excellencies  and  graces, 
and  others  of  a  kindred  description,  all  meeting  in  the 
same  individual,  not  only  at  one  period  of  life,  but  in  all 
periods,  and  in  almost  every  possible  condition,  at  home 
and  abroad;  in  freedom  and  in  chains;  when  deep  in  the 
recesses  of  poverty  and  desertion,  and  when  next  to  the 
monarch  on  the  throne;  when  he  had  not  a  friend  who 
would  listen  to  his  sorrows,  and  when  lying  on  the 
neck  of  his  fond  father  in  tears,  and  almost  worshipped 
by  his  kindred  and  train;  if  these  singular  excellencies 
and  graces,  I  say,  opening  in  the  morning  of  his  days, 
ripening  with  his  years,  and  blooming  round  his  pillow 
in  the  day  of  his  death,  are  any  proof  of  a  soul  entirely 
sanctified  by  grace,  let  justice  be  done  to  the  memory 
of  Joseph,  and  the  honors  of  the  holiest  bloom  round 
his  grave. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFIOATION. 


Ill 


I  pass  over  a  cloud  of  Old  Testament  worthies,  and 
hasten  to  make  some  selections  from  the  New.  The 
case  of  St.  Stephen  may  be  separately  noticed,  as  a 
sample  of  numbers  more,  whose  names  or  whose  state 
is  conspicuous  in  the  Oracles  of  God.  St.  Stephen  was 
a  good  man,  "full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Brief,  but  important,  is  the  character  of  this  saint,  as 
drawn  in  these  words,  and  full,  though  not  wordy,  is  this 
glowing  account  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God  which 
resided  in  his  heart;  for,  what  can  man  have  on  this  side 
the  grave,  or  in  heaven  itself,  in  addition  to  this?  I 
have  no  higher  views  of  sanctitication,  in  its  best,  high- 
est, and  sublimest  state,  than  that  those  who  enjoy  it  are 
filled  with  faith  and  the  Spirit  of  God;  for  more  than 
full  they  certainly  cannot  be.  It  is  true,  at  death  the 
capacity  of  the  soul  may  be  considerably  enlarged,  and 
may  undergo  a  similar  kind  of  expansion,  gradually  or 
at  stated  periods,  to  all  eternity,  just  as  the  mind  of  the 
Christian  is  enlarged,  by  an  influx  of  knowledge  and 
grace,  during  this  present  life;  yet  we  can  but  be  full 
after  all,  and  Stephen,  it  seems,  was  full  while  on  earth; 
'full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

To  avoid  the  conclusion  I  have  drawn  from  the  terms 
just  repeated,  it  is  sometimes  alleged,  that  they  mean 
quite  a  different  thing,  and  ought  to  be  understood  of 
the  power  of  working  miracles.  But  had  this  been  the 
case,  the  power  to  work  miracles  would  have  been 
equally  possessed  by  every  member,  whether  male  or 
female,  of  the  pentecostal  church;  for  the  whole  "mul- 
titude of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart  and  one 
sotil;"  there  was  no  difference  among  them  in  this  re- 
spect, all  being  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."    (Acts  iv, 


112 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


31,  32.)  Beside,  the  end  for  which  miracles  were 
wrought,  required  not  every  member  of  the  church  to 
be  able  to  perform  them;  and  to  bestow  such  a  power 
without  any  necessity  for  the  gift,  is  an  action  we  must 
not  attribute  to  God,  who  does  nothing  in  vain;  but  to 
be  sanctified  wholly,  in  every  part  and  faculty  of  the 
body  and  mind,  requires  a  diffusion  of  grace  through  the 
whole,  which  nothing  but  a  fulness  of  the  Spirit  can 
effect,  and,  as  all  the  members  of  the  church  needed 
this,  so,  in  reference  to  this,  we  find  he  was  equally 
given  to  all,  all  being  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  So 
that  here  is  a  goodly  company,  five  thousand  at  least,  all 
in  the  same  glorious  condition;  cleansed  from  all  un- 
righteousness in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

But  as  the  mystery  of  iniquity  was  early  at  work, 
there  are  few  entire  churches  to  be  found  who  retained 
this  holy  estate  for  any  considerable  portion  of  time; 
that  in  the  city  of  Smyrna  was  probably  the  only  one  in 
the  days  of  St.  John,  whose  members  all  walked  in  primi- 
tive white.  But  that  these  did  retain  the  unwrinkled 
sanctity  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  seems  more  than  prob- 
able, from  the  following  things.  (1.)  The  Searcher  of 
hearts  finds  no  manner  of  fault  with  them,  when  writing 
unto  them  by  means  of  St.  John.  (2.)  He  pronounces 
them  "rich," — rich  in  grace;  for,  in  other  respects,  they 
were  "poor," — and  gives  no  special  direction  to  them,  as 
he  does  to  the  churches  which  were  fallen  and  luke- 
warm, but  only  bids  them  "be  faithful  unto  death." 
(3.)  Either,  therefore,  this  church  was  perfect  and  en- 
tire, wanting  nothing,  or  he  was  partial  in  not  reproving 
them  as  he  did  the  others,  and  unmindful  of  those  their 
wants  and  necessities,  which  he  himself  alone  could 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


113 


point  out  and  supply.  The  only  conclusion  to  be  drawn 
from  these  premises  is  this,  that  this  poor  suffering 
church  of  the  Redeemer  stood  firm  in  its  primitive 
purity  and  perfection,  and  was  wholly  sanctified  by  the 
grace  of  God. 

Among  the  members  of  the  churches  of  Thyatira  and 
Sardis,  we  perceive  a  considerable  difference  in  their 
spiritual  state:  some  are  sanctified  wholly,  others  but  in 
part;  and  the  language  of  Jesus  concerning  them  varies 
in  the  same  way.  Some  are  reproved  and  threatened; 
some,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other;  and  some,  highly 
commended.  "Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in  Sardis 
which  have  not  def  ied  their  garments;  and  they  shall 
walk  with  me  in  white:  for  tliey  are  worthy." 

On  taking  our  leave  of  the  sacred  page,  the  church 
indeed  widens  and  spreads  in  its  outward  appearance, 
but  the  faithful  are  minished  and  brought  low,  or  hid 
from  our  sight  by  the  clouds  of  error  that  rose  on  every 
hand,  and  spread  like  a  thickening  veil  upon  all  the 
moral  world.  Before  "the  fathers"  fell  asleep,  super- 
stition, in  many  places,  usurped  the  place  of  piety,  and 
rites  and  ceremonies,  as  senseless  in  themselves  as  they 
were  unknown  in  tiie  days  of  St.  Paul,  were  imported 
into  the  church,  and  multiplied  and  grew,  without  mea- 
sure or  end.  But  it  would  not  comport  with  my  pre- 
sent design  to  attempt  to  supply  an  account  of  these 
things.  And  it  will  be  much  more  pleasing  to  the 
reader  to  observe,  that  when  the  darkness  of  ages  began 
to  roll  away,  and  the  light  of  Gospel  truth,  by  means  of 
the  Reformation,  and  subsequent  revivals  of  religion,  re- 
visited the  church,  the  true  glory  of  the  church  returned 
with  it;  so  that  for  half  a  century,  or  more,  the  great 
11 


114 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


and  glorious  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification  has  been 
gradually  rising  into  light,  and,  by  the  pleasing  records 
of  the  eminently  consecrated  lives  and  triumphant  deaths 
of  many  of  the  followers  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus, 
has  thrown  a  peculiar  halo  of  glory  into  the  annals  of 
the  church  of  the  Redeemer  on  earth.  From  numerous 
cases  of  the  kind,  which  might  easily  be  collected,  a 
few  may  be  given  in  this  department  of  my  work;  and 
with  them  we  may  properly  bring  this  volume  to  an  end. 

The  first  case  I  shall  mention  is  that  of  a  man  who 
had  sought  the  blessing  of  entire  holiness  for  some 
years,  but  without  any  effect,  save  that  his  soul  had 
often  been  blessed  in  the  pursuit,  and  revived  and  cheered 
with  the  hope  of  one  day  enjoying  it.  But  for  some 
months  prior  to  the  time  when  he  obtained  the  blessing, 
having  been  so  repeatedly  baffled  and  disappoined,  owing, 
of  course,  to  some  error  in  the  manner  in  which  he  had 
sought  it,  his  hope  of  ultimate  success  lost  the  strength 
of  her  wings,  and  lay  fluttering  in  grief  and  distress  on 
the  ground.  While  in  this  state,  a  few  words  concerning 
it  dropped  from  the  lips  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
revived  him  again,  and  led  hiiu  to  believe  that  his 
prayer  would  be  heard,  and  that  God  would  graciously 
give  him  the  desire  of  his  heart.  With  this  view  of 
the  case,  and  desiring  and  panting  to  be  blessed  with 
this  blessing,  he  went  into  his  chamber,  sunk  into  the 
dust  at  the  footstool  of  Christ,  and  earnestly  groaned 
for  purity  of  heart.  "My  whole  soul,"  says  he,  "was 
fixed  upon  this,  and  upon  Him  who  alone  could  give  it; 
not  upon  ease,  peace,  joy,  happiness;  no,  nor  yet  upon 
heaven;  but  tliat  my  heart  might  be  chan  in  the  sight 
of  my  God.    At  the  same  time  I  felt  stripped  of  all 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


115 


merit:  and  O  what  consolation  I  found  in  this  unfeigned 
poverty,  in  having  nothing  to  bring;  and  in  feeling  that 
if  ever  I  should  be  altogether  holy,  it  would  be  utterly 
for  the  sake  of  Him  after  whom  my  soul  panted:  nor 
can  language  describe  the  patience,  resignation,  and 
self-abasement  which  I  felt  during  the  whole  of  this 
time." 

He  then  proceeds  to  inform  us,  that  while  he  was 
wrestling  in  prayer  for  the  blessing,  "God  answered  for 
himself!"  The  room,  it  seems,  was  filled  with  the  divine 
glory,  and  his  soul  overflowed  with  love  to  God.  He 
had  experienced  nothing  betbre  to  be  compared  with 
this;  and,  at  the  same  time,  God  spoke  to  his  heart  as 
with  an  audible  voice,  "From  all  thy  idols  will  I  cleanse 
thee:  a  new  heart  also  will  I  give  thee;  and  thou  shall 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy 
mind,  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  this  individual  found 
this  pearl  of  great  price.  And  here  we  may  observe 
how  the  Spirit  of  God  attested  to  his  heart  that  the 
sanctifying  process  was  brought  to  an  end.  A  voice,  an 
inward  voice,  spoke,  when  the  work  was  accomplished, 
and  said,  "A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  thee,  &c.;  and 
without  this  inward  testimony  of  the  Spirit  he  could  not 
have  been  sure  that  the  work  was  accomplished  within 
him,  because  such  is  the  depth  of  the  heart,  and,  con- 
sequently, of  the  depravity  of  the  heart,  of  all  the 
children  of  men,  that  none  but  God  can  know  it,  or 
when  it  is  purged  and  made  clean,  save  those  to  whom 
God  shall  attest  it  by  the  Spirit  of  his  Son.  But  of 
these  things  1  have  already  spoken  in  a  former  chapter 
of  this  work,  and  shall  only  add  in  this  place,  that  al- 


116 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


though  it  is  possible  to  be  mistaken,  and  to  suppose  we 
are  sanctified  wholly  when  in  reality  we  are  not;  yet  the 
case  now  before  us,  preceded  as  it  was  by  genuine  con- 
version, by  a  deep  inward  consciousness  of  its  necessity, 
earnest  groaning  to  obtain  it,  and  the  like,  and  followed, 
as  will  be  seen  immediately,  by  suitable  corroborating 
effects,  has  every  credential  of  a  genuine  work  which 
the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit;  and  we  are  justified 
in  believing  the  overwhelming  consciousness  of  the  glo- 
rious presence  of  God  in  his  soul  which  he  felt,  and 
especially  the  inward  voice,  whispering  in  his  heart  that 
he  was  that  moment  cleansed,  was  the  work  of  the  Holy 
(ihost,  and  no  other  than  His  indubitable  attestation  to 
the  heart  that  he  had  now  completed  the  work  of  his 
entire  sanctification.  Accordingly,  the  effect  of  the 
blessing  in  question  upon  this  individual  he  proceeds  to 
describe  in  the  following  way.  "The  cheering  presence 
of  God,"  says  he,  "and  the  light  of  his  countenance 
have  shined  upon  me  ever  since  that  time;  nor  has  one 
solitary  cloud  been  suflored  to  interpose;  and  it  now 
seems  natural  to  me  to  watch  in  all  things,  that  no  idle 
word  may  proceed  from  my  lips,  to  grieve  the  good 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or  damp  the  pure  flame  of  love 
which  is  on  the  altar  of  my  heart."  A  little  further  on 
in  his  narrative  he  proceeds  thus:  "I  have  felt,"  says 
he,  "no  evil  arise  in  my  heart  since  that  time,  but  such 
a  perpetual  love  to  God  as  cannot  well  be  expressed;  and 
1  am  so  carried  away  with  desire  for  the  welfare  of 
others,  that  at  times  the  flame  seems  almost  too  power- 
ful for  nature." 

The  next  is  the  case  of  one  Thomas  Basker,  who  re- 
sided at  Ashby,  near  Spilsby,  Lincolnshire,  and  died  in 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


117 


the  year  1784.  About  three  years  prior  to  his  decease, 
while  living  an  account  of  his  conversion  and  Christian 
experience,  he  speaks  of  obtaining  entire  sanctification 
in  the  following  way:  "Still  something,"  says  he,  "was 
wanting  more  fully  to  relieve  my  anxieties,  and  satisfy 
and  give  rest  and  quiet  to  my  mind.  I  often  felt  the 
risings  of  corrupt  nature,  which  1  could  not  prevent, 
though  sin  had  lost  its  dominion  over  my  soul.  1  saw 
the  land  of  promise  at  a  distance,  and  longed  to  enter 
into  that  perfect  rest."  "About  this  time,"  he  adds, 
"Mr.  Westell  preached  at  my  house,  and  clearly  de- 
scribed the  entire  holiness  which  I  had  long  sought,  and 
proved  also,  to  my  entire  satisfaction,  it  was  a  present 
salvation,  a  blessing  that  might  be  had  that  day  by  simple 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  so  that  I  fully  received 
his  testimony  concerning  it.  1  had  experienced  many 
temptations  and  trials,  and  the  enemy  had  thrust  sore  at 
roe  to  make  me  fall;  but  God  had  been  my  helper, 
leading  me  in  paths  which  I  had  not  known,  and  pre- 
paring me  for  the  reception  of  this  great  and  glorious 
blessing;  and  having  obtained  it,  I  rejoiced  in  its  light 
and  liberty  for  the  space  of  a  year." 

This  person,  however,  though  he  lost  the  divine  wit- 
ness of  the  entire  sanctification  of  his  nature,  and  felt 
himself  open  again  to  the  "incursions  of  the  enemy" 
for  a  season,  was  again  excited  to  seek  the  blessing;  nor 
was  he  permitted  to  seek  it  in  vain.  The  Lord  applied 
his  word  with  power  to  his  heart,  so  that  he  had  no  rest 
in  his  bones  till  the  happy  hour  of  his  great  and  glorious 
deliverance  arrived.  "This  was,"  he  says,  "if  I  re- 
member right,  in  1780,"  four  years  before  his  death. 
He  was,  at  the  time,  it  seems,  employed  in  his  regular 
11* 


118 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


calling,  musing  on  the  goodness  of  God;  and  the  change 
was  instantly  succeeded  by  the  Holy  Spirit's  testimony 
of  its  accomplishment,  who  bore  witness  to  the  fact  by 
applying  that  passage  with  power  to  his  mind.  "Arise, 
my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away," — while  the  cor- 
roborating evidence  of  the  reality  of  this  great  change, 
and  of  the  truth  of  the  Spirit's  testimony  concerning  it, 
are  discernible  in  what  followed  them  in  his  experience 
and  life,  namely,  "peace  uninterrupted,  confirmation  in 
love  by  many  and  precious  promises  perpetually  kept  up 
in  his  mind,  continual  openings  of  heaven  in  his  soul, 
his  being  fed  with  the  delights  of  paradise,  and  by  a 
meek,  humble,  patient,  loving  spirit,  and  modest  deport- 
ment, till  death,  both  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man." 
He  was  not  indeed  freed  from  temptations,  as  he  con- 
tinues to  inform  us,  not  even  from  strong  and  powerful 
ones,  which  occasionally  assailed  him.  But  in  the 
midst  of  these  powerful  assaults  of  the  enemy,  the  Re- 
deemer appeared  as  his  protector  and  shield,  saying, 
Hitherto  shall  ye  go,  but  no  further;  nor  shall  ye  be 
siirtered  to  injure  my  servant  and  friend.  The  Lord 
lanijht  him  daily  the  lessons  of  his  grace.  "And  though," 
to  use  his  own  expressions,  "he  was  so  poor  a  disciple 
of  so  kind  and  indulgent  a  Master,"  yet  this  important 
lesson  he  had  learnt,  "That  without  Christ  he  was 
nothing,  and  could  do  nothing;  and  that  the  nearer  we 
advance  to  God,  our  centre  of  life  and  felicity,  the  more 
clearly  we  see  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  the 
absolute  need  of  self-emptiness  and  deep  poverty  of 
spirit,  in  order  to  the  true  enjoyment  of  the  riches  of 
his  grace." 

The  next  case  which  I  shall  mention  is  the  case  of 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


119 


Christiana  Malenoire,  wlio  was  born,  it  seems,  in  1738. 
She  was  the  subject  of  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit  when 
young,  but  yielded  to  temptations,  and  was  not  truly 
converted  till  about  thirty-two  years  of  age,  when  she 
had  been  for  some  time  married  and  settled  in  life. 

Soon  after  her  conversion,  she  was  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  a  further  work  of  grace  in  her  heart,  where 
she  felt  strong  emotions  of  her  besetting  sin.  The 
enemy  took  occasion  from  this  to  suggest,  that  she  was 
not  in  a  state  of  justification,  which  occasioned  her 
often  to  weep  and  lament.  She  knew  it  was  a  bitter 
thing  to  sin  against  God,  felt  her  own  weakness  and  in- 
firmities, and  trembled  through  fear  of  falling  in  the 
dark  and  cloudy  day.  Yet  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit 
that  she  was  pardoned  and  accepted  of  God  was  gene- 
rally bright  and  clear;  and  she  seemed  settled  in  the 
thought  that  she  must  struggle  with  inbred  corruption 
till  the  day  of  her  death. 

Being  one  day  unusually  tried,  she  discovered  that 
her  will  was  not  wholly  resigned  to  the  will  of  her  God, 
which  gave  her  considerable  perplexity  and  distress. 
A  minister  of  the  Gospel  having  breakfasted  at  her 
house,  perceived  she  was  dejected,  and  ventured  to  pro- 
pose some  inquiries  concerning  the  cause  of  her  distress, 
and  having  listened  to  her  reply,  proceeded  to  state, 
that,  as  a  follower  of  Christ,  it  was  no  less  her  privi- 
lege than  her  duty  to  have  those  evils  removed  of  which 
she  complained,  and  to  be  altogether  pure  in  mind  and 
in  heart.  This  was  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  her 
soul.  The  minister  explained  the  nature  of  entire  sanc- 
tification,  showed  it  was  attainable  by  simple  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  pointed  out  some  of  the  promises 


120 


A   PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


which  relate  to  this  work.  Her  band-leader  also,  who 
enjoyed  this  blessing,  afforded  her  some  considerable 
help;  so  that,  seeing  it  to  be  her  privilege,  she  resolved 
to  seek  it  with  all  her  heart. 

While  she  did  this,  the  evidence  of  her  pardon  grew 
brighter,  and  her  views  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel 
became  clearer,  while  her  conviction  that  she  needed 
the  blessing,  sunk  deeper  and  deeper  into  her  soul;  so 
that  the  process  of  the  work  was  going  on  in  her  na- 
ture; and,  in  about  nine  days  from  the  time  of  her  dis- 
course with  the  minister,  she  was  fully  delivered  from 
the  plague  of  her  own  heart.  Previous,  however,  to 
this  change  taking  place,  she  had  a  sore  conflict  in  her 
mind;  the  enemy  came  in  like  a  flood  upon  her;  but, 
her  convictions  being  keen  and  deep,  she  continued  to 
wrestle  for  the  blessing,  and  determined  never  to  rest 
till  she  obtained  it  from  God.  With  this  end  in  view, 
she  threw  herself  upon  her  knees  before  the  Lord,  and 
was  led  in  contemplation  to  follow  her  suffering  Saviour 
from  the  manger  to  the  cross,  and  to  plead  with  him  her 
title,  through  his  blood,  to  all  the  blessings  he  has  pur- 
chased for  sinners.  "There  I  saw  him,"  says  she,  "by 
the  eye  of  faith,  tortured,  groaning,  bleeding,  expiring, 
for  me! — and  my  heart  was  melted  within  me  like  wax 
before  the  fire.  How  did  I  weep  beneath  the  cross! 
With  the  same  eye  of  faith,"  she  proceeds,  "I  saw  my 
adorable  Saviour  taken  down  from  the  cross;  I  saw  his 
veins  emptied;  his  sinews  stretched  out;  and  his  sacred 
body  all  over  disordered  with  death!  O  the  spectacle 
to  behold,  sufficient  to  rend  my  heart  in  twain!  My 
thoughts  still  pursued  him,  rolled  in  linen  clothes,  and 
laid  in  the  sepulchre.    Here  1  stood  weeping  and  crying, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


121 


For  me!  for  me!  when,  on  a  sudden,  as  if  an  audible 
voice  had  spoken,  these  words  were  applied  with  power 
to  my  heart,  ^  Woman,  why  weepcst  thou?  lohom,  seekest 
thou?''  to  which  my  heart  answered,  '/  seek  Jesus.^  '■He 
is  not  here;  he  is  risen,''  said  the  same  inward  voice. 
At  these  words,"  she  continues,  "I  felt  a  sudden  change, 
as  if  my  spirit  was  wafted  after  the  blessed  Redeemer, 
and  caught  up  into  heaven.  I  was  lost  to  myself  for  a 
time;  I  cannot  tell  how  long;  but  when  my  spirit  re- 
sumed its  place  again,  I  cried  out,  Lord  Jesus,  what  art 
thou  now  about  to  do  with  me?"  And  the  answer  to 
this  was  by  a  powerful  application  of  this  passage  to  her 
mind,  ^'■Behold  noto  is  the  accepted  time,  behold  now  is 
the  day  of  salvationT  "And  to  this,"  says  she,  "my 
heart  replied,  'Be  it  unto  me  even  as  thou  wilt.' " 

Thus  was  this  person  fully  delivered  from  the  remains 
of  the  carnal  mind,  and  gloriously  sanctified  by  the 
Spirit  and  grace  of  God.  She  knew  she  was  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus,  yea,  that  all  things  were  be- 
come new;  and  by  happy  experience  she  began  to  find 
the  superior  excellency  of  this  exalted  state  of  grace, 
for  her  soul  was  made  like  a  well-watered  garden,  or  as 
trees  planted  by  the  rivers  of  waters.  She  grew  more 
in  one  day  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  peace,  than 
in  all  the  preceding  days  of  her  life;  and  her  willing  feet 
ran  in  swift  obedience  to  perform  the  perfect  will  of  her 
God,  and  find  her  happy  way  to  the  felicities  above. 

The  last  case  I  shall  notice  is  that  of  a  Mr.  John 
Boothby,  who  was  born  near  Macclesfield,  in  1739,  and 
soundly  converted  to  God  when  about  twenty-three  or 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  having  a  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren at  the  time.    From  the  period  of  his  conversion 


122 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY  ON 


he  was  made  sensible  of  the  remains  of  the  carnal  mind 
in  his  soul,  and  being  also  fully  convinced  of  the  neces- 
sity and  possibility  of  obtaining  entire  holiness  of  heart, 
he  determined  not  to  rest  till  he  obtained  it  from  God. 

For  three  full  weeks  he  hungered  and  thirsted  for 
this  inestimable  grace.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  going 
to  his  class  as  usual,  "he  found  himself,"  he  says,  "in  a 
sweet  and  peaceful  state  of  mind,  and  felt  fully  resolved 

"To  love's  habitual  sense  by  acts  to  aspire, 
And  kindle  till  he  caught  the  Gospel  fire." 

Nor  did  he  find  himself  in  any  error  by  seeking  to  ob- 
tain entire  sanctification  in  this  scriptural  and  practical 
way;  for,  while  at  that  meeting,  his  soul  was  drawn  out 
into  an  agony  of  prayer  for  the  blessing,  and  in  his 
breast  was  a  mighty  struggle  between  sanctifying  faith 
and  the  remains  of  opposing,  but  expiring,  unbelief. 
One  of  the  members  of  the  class  perceiving  the  struggle 
of  his  mind,  asked,  what  particular  blessing  he  was 
anxious  to  possess;  and  when  he  had  named  it,  he  was 
exhorted  to  believe,  in  order  that  he  might  then  receive 
it  from  God.  But  to  this  he  demurred,  through  a  fear 
he  should  lose  it  to-morrow  if  he  did.  He  was  told,  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  to-morrow,  and  exhorted  again 
to  believe  for  it  now.  He  then  very  properly  reflected, 
that,  certainly,  to-morrow  was  nothing  to  him,  and  that 
his  business  must  be,  without  any  delay  whatsoever,  to 
cast  his  whole  soul  upon  Christ,  in  order  to  be  cleansed 
at  once  from  his  indwelling  sin.  And  while  he  was  en- 
gaged in  these  meditations,  the  infinite  love  of  Jesus 
prevented  him,  for  the  powerful  presence  of  God  de- 
scended upon  him,  and  his  soul  was  filled  with  unutter- 


ENTIRE  SAXCTIFICATION. 


1J3 


able  love.  "I  knew  not,"  says  he,  "either  where  I  was 
or  what  I  was  doing;  but  when  these  sensations  were 
over,  and  my  mind  resumed  its  balance  again,  1  was  quite 
another  man.  The  light  of  the  moon  was  as  the  light 
of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun,  was  sevenfold,  as 
seven  days  in  one;  and  when  I  came  down  from  the  mount, 
I  was  like  a  little  child.'' 

I  have  taken  the  substance  of  these  four  cases  from 
the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth  volumes  of  the 
Wcsleyan- Methodist  Magazine,  (pp.  531,  643,  482,  and 
32S,)  and  have  taken  no  other  liberties  with  them  than 
that  of  altering  the  language  a  little,  and  abridging  the 
accounts,  without  purposely  altering  their  substance  in 
the  least;  and  having  done  this,  and  discussed  the  whole 
subject  which  is  now  before  the  reader  in  the  best 
manner  I  have  been  able  within  the  compass  of  this 
small  volume,  I  may  now,  with  one  additional  remark, 
proceed  to  conduct  it  to  an  end. 

It  appears,  then,  upon  the  whole,  from  what  has  been 
said  in  this  volume,  that  the  doctrine  of  entire  sanctifi- 
cation  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  subject  of  mere  specu- 
lation, with  which  the  experience  and  practice  of  men 
can  have  little  or  nothing  to  do.  No,  by  no  means.  It 
is  a  great  and  important  experimental  and  practical 
question.  It  has  entered  deeply  into  the  hearts  of  the 
choicest  sons  of  grace,  and  been  richly  interwoven  into 
the  web  of  their  life.  It  has  raised  them  to  more  than 
ordinary  intercourse  with  God,  brightened  the  glory  of 
their  illustrious  example,  made  death  appear  unto  them 
not  only  stingless,  but  even  desirable,  and  widened  and 
extended  their  prospects  into  the  eternal  world.  It  has 
enabled,  not  only  those  whose  names  have  been  intro- 


124  ESSAY  ON  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

duced  to  our  notice  in  the  course  of  this  work,  but 
thousands  more,  in  all  ages  and  in  all  nations,  where 
Christianity  has  flourished,  with  unmingled  emotions  of 
joy  and  rapture,  to  say,  with  the  beloved  disciple  St. 
John,  "Herein  is  our  love  made  perfect,  that  we  may 
have  boldness  at  the  day  of  judgment;  because  as  he  is, 
so  are  we  in  the  world."  Reader,  if  this  language  is 
not  thine,  up  at  once,  without  any  delay,  and  speed  thy- 
self to  God;  yea,  give  thyself  no  rest  till  thy  nature  is 
whiter  than  snow,  and  gloriously  filled  with  all  the 
fulness  of  God.  A  thousand  considerations  are  at 
hand  to  urge  thee  forward.  But,  above  all,  the  dying 
love  of  Jesus  should  prevail  on  thee,  since  he  himself 
opened  in  his  own  bleeding  heart  that  only  fountain 
which  can  remove  the  impurities  of  our  fallen  and  cor- 
rupt nature,  and  make  us  meet  to  reside  in  his  presence 
above. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


BY  DR.  ADAM  CLARKE,  LL.  D.,  F.  A.  S. 


The  word  "sanctify"  has  two  meanings.  1.  It  signi 
fies  to  consecrate,  to  separate  from  earth  and  common 
use,  and  to  devote  or  dedicate  to  God  and  his  service. 
2.  It  signifies  to  make  holy  or  pure. 

Many  talk  much,  and  indeed  well,  of  what  Christ  has 
done  for  us:  but  how  little  is  spoken  of  what  he  is  to  do 
in  us!  and  yet  all  that  he  has  done  for  us  is  in  referesice 
to  what  he  is  to  do  in  us.  He  was  incarnated,  suilered, 
died,  and  rose  again  from  the  dead;  ascended  to  heaven, 
and  there  appears  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.  These 
were  all  saving,  atoning,  and  mediating  acts  for  us;  that 
he  might  reconcile  us  to  God;  that  he  might  blot  out  our 
sin;  that  he  might  purge  our  consciences  from  dead 
works;  that  he  might  bind  the  strong  man  armed — take 
away  the  armor  in  which  he  trusted,  wash  the  polluted 
heart,  destroy  every  foul  and  abominable  desire,  all  tor- 
menting and  unholy  tempers;  that  he  might  make  the 
•  heart  his  throne,  fill  the  soul  with  his  light,  power,  and 
life;  and,  in  a  word,  "destroy-  the  works  of  the  devil." 
These  are  done  in  us;  without  which  we  cannot  be  sav- 
ed unto  eternal  life.  But  these  acts  done  in  us  are  con- 
sequent on  the  acts  done  for  us:  for  had  he  not  been  in- 
carnated, suffered,  and  died  in  our  stead,  we  could  not 
12 


126 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


receive  either  pardon  or  holiness;  and  did  he  not  cleanse 
and  purify  our  hearts,  we  could  not  enter  into  the  place 
where  all  is  purity:  for  the  beatific  vision  is  given  to 
them  only  who  are  purified  from  all  unrighteousness:  for 
it  is  written,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  tor  they 
shall  see  God.''  Nothing  is  purified  by  death; — nothing 
in  the  grave;  nothing  in  heaven.  The  living  stones  of 
the  temple,  like  those  of  that  at  Jerusalem,  are  hewn, 
squared,  and  cut  here,  in  the  church  militant,  to  pre- 
pare them  to  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  church 
triumphiint. 

This  perfection  is  the  restoration  of  man  to  the  state 
of  holiness  from  which  he  fell,  by  creating  him  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  restoring  to  him  that  image  and  like- 
ness of  God  which  he  has  lost.  A  higher  meaning  than 
this  it  cannot  have;  a  lower  meaning  it  must  not  have. 
God  made  man  in  that  degree  of  perfection  which  was 
pleasing  to  hi.s  own  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness.  Sin 
defaced  this  divine  image;  Jesus  came  to  restore  it.  Sin 
must  have  no  triuiii|)h;  and  the  Redeemer  of  mankind 
must  have  his  glory.  But  if  man  be  not  perfectly  saved 
from  all  sin,  sin  does  triumph,  and  Satan  exult,  because 
they  have  done  a  mischief  that  Christ  either  cannot  or 
will  not  remove.  To  say  he  cannot,  would  be  shocking 
blasphemy  against  the  infinite  power  and  dignity  of  the 
great  Creator;  to  say  he  will  not,  would  be  equally  such 
against  the  infinite  benevolence  and  hoiinessof  his  nature. 
All  sin,  whether  in  power,  guilt,  or  defilement,  is  the 
work  of  the  devil;  and  he,  Jesus,  came  to  destroy  the 
work  of  the  devil;  and  as  all  unrighteousness  is  sin,  so 
his  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  because  it  cleanseth 
from  all  unrighteousness. 


EJJTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


127 


Many  stagger  at  the  term  ■perfection  in  Christianity; 
because  they  think  that  what  is  impUed  in  it  is  inconsist- 
ent with  a  state  of  probation,  and  savors  of  pride  and 
presumption:  but  we  must  take  good  heed  how  we  stag- 
ger at  any  word  of  God;  and  much  more  how  we  deny 
or  fritter  away  the  meaning  of  any  of  his  sayings,  lest 
he  reprove  us,  and  we  be  found  liars  before  him.  But 
it  may  be  that  the  term  is  rejected  because  it  is  not  un- 
derstood.   Let  us  examine  its  import. 

The  word  "perfection,"  in  reference  to  any  person  or 
thing,  signifies  that  such  person  or  thing  is  complete  or 
finished;  that  it  has  nothing  redundant,  and  is  in  nothing 
defective.  And  hence  that  observation  of  a  learned 
civilian  is  at  once  both  correct  and  illustrative,  namely, 
"We  count  those  things  perfect  which  want  nothing  re- 
quisite for  the  end  whereto  they  were  instituted.''  And 
to  be  perfect  often  signifies  "to  be  blameless,  clear,  irre- 
proachable;" and,  according  to  the  above  definition  of 
Hooker,  a  man  may  be  said  to  be  perfect  who  answers 
the  end  for  which  God  made  him;  and  as  God  requires 
every  man  to  love  him  with  all  his  heart,  soul,  mind,  and 
strength,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself;  then  he  is  a  per- 
fect man  that  does  so;  he  answers  the  end  for  which 
God  made  him;  and  this  is  more  evident  from  the  na- 
ture of  that  love  which  fills  his  heart:  for  as  love  is  the 
principle  of  obedience,  so  he  that  loves  his  God  with  all 
his  powers  will  obey  him  with  all  his  powers;  and  he  who 
loves  his  neighbor  as  himself  will  not  only  do  no  injury 
to  him,  but,  on  the  contrary,  labor  to  promote  his  best 
interests.  Why  the  doctrine  which  enjoins  such  a  state 
of  perfection  as  this,  should  be  dreaded,  ridiculed,  or  de- 
spised, is  a  most  strange  thing;  and  the  opposition  to  it 


128  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

can  only  be  from  that  carnal  mind  that  is  enmity  to  God; 
"That  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 
can  be."  And  had  I  no  other  proof  that  man  is  fallen 
from  God,  his  opposition  to  Christian  holiness  would  be 
to  me  sufficient. 

The  whole  design  of  God  was  to  restore  man  to  his 
image,  and  raise  him  from  the  ruins  of  his  fall;  in  a 
word,  to  make  him  perfect;  to  h\t>t  out  all  his  sins,  purify 
his  soul,  and  fill  him  with  holiness;  so  that  no  unholy 
temper,  evil  desire,  or  impure  affection  or  passion  shall 
either  lodge  or  have  any  being  within  him;  this  and  this 
only  is  true  religion,  or  Christian  perfection;  and  a  less 
salvation  than  this  would  be  dishonorable  to  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  and  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and 
would  be  as  unworthy  of  the  appellation  of  "Christian- 
ity," as  it  would  be  of  that  of  "holiness  of  perfection." 
They  who  ridicule  this  are  scoffers  at  the  word  of  God; 
many  of  them  totally  irreligious  men,  sitting  in  the  seat 
of  the  scornful.  They  who  deny  it,  deny  the  whole 
scope  and  design  of  divine  revelation  and  the  mission  of 
Jesus  Ciirist.  And  they  who  preach  the  opposite  doc- 
trine are  either  speculative  Antinomians,  or  pleaders 
for  Baal. 

When  St.  Paul  says  he  "warns  every  man,  and  teaches 
every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  he  may  present  every  man 
PERFECT  in  Christ  Jesus,"  he  must  mean  something. 
What  then  is  this  somefhingl  It  must  mean  "that  holi- 
ness without  which  none  shall  see  the  Lord."  Call  it  by 
what  name  we  please,  it  must  imply  the  pardon  of  all 
transgression,  and  the  removal  of  the  whole  body  of  sin 
and  death;  for  this  must  take  place  before  we  can  be  like 
him,  and  see  him  as  he  is,  in  the  effulgence  of  his  own 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


129 


glory.  This  fitness,  then,  to  appear  before  God,  and 
thorough  preparation  for  eternal  glory,  is  what  I  plead 
for,  pray  for,  and  heartily  recommend  to  all  true  be- 
lievers, under  the  name  of  Christian  perfection.  Had  I 
a  better  name,  one  more  energetic,  one  with  a  greater 
plenitude  of  meaning,  one  more  worthy  of  the  efficacy 
of  the  blood  that  bought  our  peace,  and  cleanseth  from 
all  unrighteousness,  I  would  gladly  adopt  and  use  it.  Even 
the  word  "perfection"  has,  in  some  relations,  so  many 
qualifications  and  abatements  that  cannot  comport  with 
that  full  and  glorious  salvation  recommended  in  the  gos- 
pel, and  bought  and  sealed  by  the  blood  of  the  cross,  that 
I  would  glady  lay  it  by,  and  employ  a  word  more  posi- 
tive and  unequivocal  in  its  meaning,  and  more  worthy 
of  the  merit  of  the  infinite  atonement  of  Christ,  and  of 
the  energy  of  his  almighty  Spirit;  but  there  is  none  in 
our  language;  which  I  deplore  as  an  inconvenience  and 
a  loss. 

Why  then  are  there  so  many,  even  among  sincere  and 
godly  ministers  and  people,  who  are  so  much  opposed  to 
the  term,  and  so  much  alarmed  at  the  profession?  I 
answer.  Because  they  think  no  man  can  be  fully  saved 
from  sin  in  this  life.  I  ask,  where  is  this,  in  unequivo- 
cal words,  written  in  the  New  Testament?  Where,  in 
that  book  is  it  intimated  that  sin  is  not  wholly  destroyed 
till  death  takes  place,  and  the  soul  and  the  body  are  sep- 
arated? Nowhere.  In  the  popish  baseless  doctrine  of 
purgatory,  this  doctrine,  not  with  more  rational  conse- 
quences, is  held:  this  doctrine  allows  that,  so  inveterate 
is  sin,  it  cannot  be  wholly  destroyed  even  in  death;  and 
that  a  penal  fire,  in  a  middle  state  between  heaven  and 
hell,  is  necessary  to  atone  for  that  which  the  blood  of 
12* 


130 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


Christ  had  not  cancelled;  and  to  purge  from  that  which 
the  energy  of  the  almighty  Spirit  had  not  cleansed  be- 
fore death. 

Even  papists  could  not  see  that  a  moral  evil  was  de- 
tained in  the  soul  through  its  physical  connection  with 
the  body;  and  that  it  required  the  dissolution  of  this 
physical  connection  before  the  moral  contagion  could  be 
removed.  Protestants,  who  profess,  and  most  certainly 
possess,  a  better  faith,  are  they  alone  that  maintain  the 
deathbed  purgatory;  and  how  positively  do  they  hold  out 
death  as  the  complete  deliverer  from  all  corruption,  and 
the  final  destroyer  of  sin,  as  if  it  were  revealed  in  every 
page  of  the  Bible!  Whereas,  there  is  not  one  passage 
in  the  sacred  volume  that  says  any  such  thing.  Were 
this  true,  then  death,  far  from  being  the  last  enemy, 
would  be  the  last  and  best  friend,  and  the  greatest  of  all 
deliverers:  for  if  the  last  remains  of  all  the  indwelling 
sin  of  all  believers  is  to  be  destroyed  by  death,  (and  a 
fearful  mass  this  will  make,)  then  death,  that  removes 
it,  must  be  the  highest  benefactor  of  mankind.  The 
truth  is,  he  is  neither  the  cause  nor  the  means  of  its  de- 
struction. It  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  alone  that  cleanseth 
from  all  unrighteousness. 

It  is  supposed  that  indwelling  sin  is  useful  even  to 
true  believers,  because  it  humbles  them  and  keeps  them 
low  in  their  own  estimation.  A  little  examination  will 
show  that  this  is  contrary  to  the  fact.  It  is  generally, 
if  not  universally  allowed,  that  pride  is  of  the  essence 
of  sin,  if  not  its  very  essence;  and  the  root  whence  all 
moral  obliquity  flows.  How  then  can  pride  humble  us? 
Is  not  this  absurd?  Where  is  there  a  sincere  Christian, 
be  his  creed  what  it  may,  that  does  not  deplore  his 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFXCATION. 


131 


proud,  rebellious,  and  unsubdued  heart  and  will,  as  the 

cause  of  all  his  wretchedness;  the  thing  that  mars  his 
best  sacrifices,  and  prevents  his  communion  with  Godi 
How  often  do  such  people  say  or  sing,  both  in  their  pub- 
lic and  private  devotions, — 

"But  pride,  that  busy  sin, 

Spoils  all  that  I  perform!" 

Were  there  no  pride,  there  would  be  no  sin;  and  the 
heart  from  which  it  is  cast  out  has  the  humility,  meek- 
ness, and  gentleness  of  Christ  implanted  in  its  stead. 

But  still  it  is  alleged,  as  an  indubitable  fact,  that  "a 
man  is  humbled  under  a  sense  of  indwelling  sin."  I 
grant  that  they  who  see,  and  feel,  and  deplore  their  in- 
dwelling sin,  are  humbled:  but  is  it  the  sin  that  humbles? 
No.  It  is  the  grace  of  God,  that  shows  and  condemns 
the  sin  that  humbles  us.  Neither  tlie  devil  nor  his  work 
will  ever  show  themselves.  Pride  works  frequently 
under  a  dense  mask,  and  will  often  assume  the  garb  of 
humility.  How  true  is  that  saying,  and  of  how  many  is 
it  the  language! 

"Proud  I  am  my  wants  to  see, 
Proud  of  my  humility." 

And,  to  conceal  his  working,  even  Satan  himself  is  trans- 
formed into  an  angel  of  ligiit!  It  appears  then  that  we 
attribute  this  boasted  humiliation  to  a  wrong  cause.  We 
never  are  humbled  under  a  sense  of  indwelling  sin  till  the 
Spirit  of  God  drags  it  to  the  light,  and  shows  us,  not 
only  its  horrid  deformity,  but  its  hostility  to  God;  and 
he  manifests  it,  that  he  may  take  it  away:  but  a  false 
opinion  causes  man  to  hug  the  monster,  and  to  contem- 
plate their  chains  with  complacency! 


132 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


It  has  been  objected  to  this  perfection,  this  perfect 
work  of  God  in  the  soul,  that  "the  greater  sense  we 
have  of  our  own  sinfulness,  the  more  will  Christ  be  ex- 
alted in  the  eye  of  the  soul:  for,  if  the  thing  were  possi- 
ble that  a  man  might  be  cleansed  from  all  sin  in  this  life, 
he  would  feel  no  need  of  a  Saviour;  Christ  would  be 
undervalued  by  him  as  no  longer  needing  his  saving 
power."  This  objection  mistakes  the  whole  state  of 
the  case.  How  is  Christ  exalted  in  the  view  of  the  soul? 
How  is  it  that  he  becomes  precious  to  us?  Is  it  not 
from  a  sense  of  what  he  has  done  for  us;  and  what  he 
has  done  in  us?  Did  any  man  ever  love  God  till  he  had 
felt  that  God  loved  him?  Do  we  not  "love  him  because 
he  first  loved  us?"  Is  it  the  name  Jesus  that  is  precious 
to  us?  or  Jesus  the  Saviour  saving  us  from  our  sins?  Is 
all  our  confidence  placed  in  him  because  of  some  one 
saving  act?  or,  because  of  his  continual  operation  as  the 
Saviour?  Can  any  effect  subsist  without  its  cause? 
Must  not  the  cause  continue  to  operate  in  order  to  main- 
tain the  effect?  Do  we  value  a  good  cause  more  for  the 
instantaneous  production  of  a  good  and  important  effect, 
than  we  do  for  its  continual  energy,  exerted  to  main- 
tain that  good  and  important  effect?  All  these  ques- 
tions can  be  answered  by  a  child.  What  is  it  that 
cleanseth  the  soul  and  destroys  sin?  Is  it  not  the  mighty 
power  of  the  grace  of  God?  What  is  it  that  keeps  the 
soul  clean?  Is  it  not  the  same  power  dwelling  in  us? 
No  more  can  an  effect  subsist  without  its  cause,  than  a 
sanctified  soul  abide  in  holiness  without  the  indwelling 
Sanctifier.  When  Christ  casts  out  the  strong-armed 
man,  he  takes  away  that  armor  in  which  he  trusted,  he 
spoils  his  goods,  he  cleanses  and  enters  into  the  house, 


ENTIRK  SANCTIFICATION. 


133 


so  that  the  heart  becomes  the  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit.  Can  then  a  man  undervalue  that  Christ  who 
not  only  blotted  out  his  iniquity,  but  cleansed  his  soul 
from  all  sin;  and  whose  presence  and  inward  mighty 
working  constitute  all  his  holiness  and  all  his  happiness? 
Impossible!  Jesus  was  never  so  highly  valued,  so  in- 
tensely loved,  so  afTectionately  obeyed,  as  now.  The 
great  Saviour  has  not  his  liigliest  glory  from  his  aton- 
ing and  redeeming  acts,  but  from  the  manifestation  of 
his  saving  power. 

"But  the  persons  who  profess  to  have  been  made  thus 
perfect  are  proud  and  supercilious,  and  their  whole  con- 
duct says  to  their  neighbor,  'Stand  by,  I  am  holier  than 
thou.'  "  No  person  that  acts  so  has  ever  received  this 
grace.  He  is  either  a  hypocrite  or  a  self-deceiver. 
Those  who  have  received  it  are  full  of  meekness,  gentle- 
ness, and  long  suffering:  they  love  God  with  all  their 
hearts,  they  love  even  their  enemies;  love  the  whole 
human  family,  and  are  servants  of  all.  They  know  they 
have  nothing  but  what  they  have  received.  In  the 
splendor  of  God's  holiness  they  feel  themselves  ab- 
sorbed. They  have  neither  light,  power,  love,  nor 
happiness,  but  from  their  indwelling  Saviour.  Their 
holiness,  though  it  fills  the  soul,  yet  is  only  a  drop  from 
the  infinite  ocean.  The  flame  of  their  love,  though  it 
penetrate  their  whole  being,  is  only  a  spark  from  the 
incomprehensible  Son  of  righteousness.  In  a  spirit  and 
in  a  way  which  none  but  themselves  can  fully  compre- 
hend and  feel,  they  can  say  or  sing, — 

"I  loathe  myself  when  God  I  see. 

And  into  nothing  fall: 
Content  that  Christ  exalted  be; 

And  God  is  all  in  all." 


134 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


It  has  been  no  small  mercy  to  me,  that,  in  the  course 
of  my  religious  life,  I  have  met  with  many  persons  who 
professed  that  the  blood  of  Christ  had  saved  them  from 
all  sin,  and  whose  profession  was  maintained  by  an  im- 
maculate life;  but  I  never  knew  one  of  them  that  was 
not  of  the  spirit  above  described.  They  were  men  of 
the  strongest  faith,  the  purest  love,  the  holiest  affec- 
tions, the  most  obedient  lives,  and  the  most  useful  in 
society.  I  have  seen  such  walking  with  God  for  many 
years:  and  as  1  had  the  privilege  of  observing  their 
walk  in  life,  so  have  I  been  privileged  with  their  testi- 
mony at  death,  when  their  sun  appeared  to  grow 
broader  and  brighter  at  its  setting;  and,  though  they 
came  through  great  tribulation,  they  found  that  their 
robes  were  washed  and  made  white  through  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  They  fully  witnessed  the  grand  eflects 
which  in  this  life  flow  from  justification,  adoption,  and 
sanctification;  namely,  assurance  of  God's  love,  peace 
of  conscience,  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  increase  of  grace, 
and  perseverance  in  the  same  to  the  end  of  their  lives. 
O  God!  let  my  death  be  like  that  of  these  righteous! 
and  let  my  end  be  like  theirs!  Amen. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  mentioning  another  objection  that 
has  been  started  by  the  ignorant,  the  worthless,  and 
the  wicked.  "The  people  that  profess  this,  leave  Christ 
out  of  the  question;  they  either  think  that  they  have 
purified  their  own  hearts,  or  that  they  have  gained  their 
pretended  perfection  by  their  own  merits."  Nothing 
can  be  more  false  than  this  calumny.  I  know  that 
people  well  in  whose  creed  the  doctrine  of  "salvation 
from  all  sin  in  this  life"  is  a  prominent  article.  But 
that  people  hold  most  conscientiously  that  all  our  salva- 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


135 


tion,  from  the  first  dawa  of  light  in  the  soul  to  its  entry 
into  the  kingdom  of  glory,  is  all  by  and  through  Christ. 
He  alone  convinces  the  soul  of  sin,  justifies  the  ungodly, 
sanctifies  the  unholy,  preserves  in  this  state  of  salvation, 
and  brings  to  everlasting  blessedness.  No  soul  ever 
was  or  can  be  saved  but  through  his  agony  and  bloody 
sweat,  iiis  cross  and  passion,  his  death  and  burial,  his 
glorious  resurrection  and  ascension,  and  continued 
intercession  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

If  men  would  but  spend  as  much  time  in  fervently 
calling  upon  God  to  cleanse  the  blood  that  he  has  not 
cleansed,  as  ihey  spend  in  decrying  this  doctrine,  what 
a  glorious  state  of  the  church  should  we  soon  witness! 
Instead  of  compounding  with  iniquity,  ,and  tormenting 
their  minds  to  find  out  with  how  little  grace  they  may 
be  saved,  they  would  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his 
works;  and  be  determined  never  to  rest  till  they  had 
found  that  He  had  bruised  him  under  their  feet,  and 
that  the  blood  of  Christ  had  cleansed  them  from  all 
unrighteousness.  Why  is  it  that  men  will  not  try  how 
far  God  will  save  them?  nor  leave  off  praying  and 
believing  for  more  and  more,  till  they  find  that  God  has 
held  his  hand?  When  they  find  that  their  agonizing 
faith  and  prayer  receive  no  farther  answer,  then,  and 
not  till  then,  they  may  conclude  that  God  will  be  no 
farther  gracious,  and  that  he  will  not  save  to  the  utter- 
most them  who  come  to  him  through  Christ  Jesus. 

But  it  is  farther  objected,  that  even  St.  Paul  himself 
denies  this  doctrine  of  perfection,  disclaiming  it  in 
reference  to  himself:  "Not  as  though  I  had  already 
attained,  either  were  already  perfect;  but  I  follow  after," 
Phil,  iii,  12.    This  place  is  mistaken:  the  apostle  is  not 


136 


ENTIRE  SANCTIPICATION, 


speaking  of  his  restoration  to  the  image  of  God;  but  to 
completing  his  ministerial  course,  and  receiving  the 
crown  of  martyrdom;  as  I  have  fully  shown  in  my  notes 
on  this  place,  and  to  which  I  must  beg  to  refer  the 
reader.  There  is  another  point  that  has  been  produced, 
at  least  indirectly,  in  the  form  of  an  objection  to  this 
doctrine:  "Where  are  those  adult,  those  perfect  Chris- 
tians? We  know  none  such;  but  we  have  heard  that 
some  persons  professing  those  extraordinary  degrees  of 
holiness  have  become  scandalous  in  their  lives."  When 
a  question  of  this  kind  is  asked  by  one  who  fears  God, 
and  earnestly  desires  his  salvation,  and  only  wishes  to 
have  full  evidence  that  the  thing  is  attainable,  that  he 
may  shake  himself  from  the  dust,  and  arise  and  go  out, 
and  possess  the  good  land — it  deserves  to  be  seriously 
answered.  To  such  I  would  say.  There  may  be  several, 
even  in  the  circle  of  your  own  religious  acquaintance, 
whose  evil  tempers  and  unholy  affections  God  has  de- 
stroyed; and  having  filled  them  with  his  own  holiness, 
they  are  enabled  to  love  him  with  all  their  heart,  soul, 
mind,  and  strength;  and  their  neighbor  as  themselves. 
But  such  make  no  public  professions:  their  conduct, 
their  spirit,  the  whole  tenor  of  their  life,  is  their  testi- 
mony. Again:  there  may  be  none  such  among  your  re- 
ligious acquaintance,  because  they  do  not  know  their 
privilege,  or  they  unfortunately  sit  under  a  ministry 
where  the  doctrine  is  decried;  and  in  such  congrega- 
tions and  churches  holiness  never  abounds;  men  are  too 
apt  to  be  slothful,  and  unfi\ithful  to  the  grace  they  have 
received;  they  need  not  their  minister's  exhortations  to 
beware  of  looking  for  or  expecting  a  heart  purified  from 
all  unrighteousness;  striving  or  agonizing  to  "enter  in 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION.  l<i' 

at  the  strait  gate"  is  not  pleasant  work  to  flesh  and 
blood;  and  they  are  glad  to  have  any  thing  to  counte- 
nance their  spiritual  indolence;  and  such  ministers  have 
always  a  powerful  coadjutor;  the  father  of  lies,  and  the 
spirit  of  error  will  work  in  the  unrenewed  heart,  filling 
it  with  darkness,  and  prejudice,  and  unbelief.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  in  such  places,  and  under  such  a 
ministry,  there  is  no  man  that  can  be  "presented  per- 
fect in  Christ  Jesus."  But  wherever  the  trumpet  gives 
a  certain  sound,  and  the  people  go  forth  to  battle,  headed 
by  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  there  the  foe  is  routed, 
and  genuine  believers  brought  into  the  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God. 

As  to  some  having  professed  to  have  received  this 
salvation,  and  afterward  become  scandalous  in  their  lives, 
(though  in  all  my  long  ministerial  labors,  and  extensive 
religious  acquaintance,  1  never  found  but  one  example,) 
I  would  just  observe  that  they  might  possibly  have  been 
deceived;  thought  they  had  what  they  had  not;  or  they 
might  have  become  unfaithful  to  that  grace  and  lost  it; 
and  this  is  possible  through  the  whole  range  of  a  state 
of  probation.  There  have  been  angels  who  kept  not 
their  first  estate;  and  we  all  know,  to  our  cost,  that  he 
who  was  the  head  and  fountain  of  the  whole  human 
family,  who  was  made  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God, 
sinned  against  God,  and  fell  from  that  state.  And  so 
may  any  of  his  descendants  fall  from  any  degree  of  the 
grace  of  God  while  in  their  state  of  probation;  and  any 
man  and  every  man  must  fall,  whenever  he  or  they 
cease  to  watch  unto  prayer,  and  ccaso  to  be  "workers 
together  with  God."  Faith  must  ever  be  kept  in  lively 
exercise,  working  by  love;  and  that  love  is  only  safe 
13 


138 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


when  found  exerting  its  energies  in  the  path  of  obedi- 
ence. An  objection  of  this  kind  against  tlie  doctrine  of 
Christian  perfection  will  apply  as  forcibly  against  the 
whole  revelation  of  God  as  it  can  do  against  one  of  the 
doctrines;  because  that  revelation  brings  the  account  of 
the  defection  of  angels  and  of  the  fall  of  man.  The 
truth  is,  no  doctrine  of  God  stands  upon  the  knowledge, 
experience,  faithfulness,  or  unfaithfulness  of  man;  it 
stands  on  the  veracity  of  God  who  gave  it.  If  there 
were  not  a  man  to  be  found  who  was  justified  freely 
through  the  redemption  that  is  by  Jesus;  yet  the  doc- 
trine of  "justification  by  faith"  is  true;  for  it  is  a 
doctrine  that  slands  on  the  truth  of  God.  And  suppose 
not  one  could  be  ihund  in  all  the  churches  of  Christ 
whose  heart  was  purified  from  all  unrighteousness,  and 
who  loved  God  and  man  with  all  his  regenerated  powers, 
yet  the  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  would  still  be 
true;  for  Christ  was  manifested  that  he  might  destroy 
the  work  of  the  devil;  and  his  blood  cleanseth  from  all 
unrighteousness.  And  suppose  every  man  be  a  liar, God 
is  true. 

It  is  not  the  profession  of  a  doctrine  that  establishes 
its  truth;  it  is  the  truth  of  God,  from  which  it  has  pro- 
ceeded. Man's  experience  may  illustrate  it;  but  it  is 
God's  truth  that  confirms  it. 

In  all  cases  of  this  nature,  we  must  forever  cease 
from  man,  implicitly  credit  God's  testimony,  and  look 
to  Him  in  and  through  whom  all  the  promises  of  God 
are  yea  and  luiien. 

To  be  fiilt'd  with  God  is  a  great  thing;  to  be  filled 
with  the  fulness  of  God  is  still  greater;  to  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God  is  greatest  of  all.  This 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION.  139 

utterly  bewilders  the  sense  and  confounds  the  under- 
standincr,  by  leading  at  once  to  consider  the  immensity 
of  God,  the  infinitude  of  his  attributes,  and  the  absolute 
perfection  of  each!  But  there  must  be  a  sense  in  which 
even  this  wonderful  petition  was  understood  by  the 
apostle,  and  may  be  comprehended  by  us.  Most  peo- 
ple, in  quoting  these  words,  endeavor  to  correct  or 
explain  the  apostle  by  adding  the  word  communicable. 
But  this  is  as  idle  as  it  is  useless  atid  impertinent.  Rea- 
son surely  tells  us  that  St.  Paul  would  not  pray  that 
they  should  be  filled  with  what  could  not  be  commu- 
nicated. The  apostle  certainly  meant  what  he  said,  and 
would  be  understood  in  his  own  meaning;  and  we  may 
soon  see  what  this  meaning  is. 

By  the  "fulness  of  God,"  we  are  to  understand  all 
the  gifts  and  graces  which  he  has  promised  to  bestow 
on  man  in  order  to  his  full  salvation  here,  and  his  being 
fully  prepared  for  the  enjoyment  of  glory  hereafter. 
To  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God  is  to  have  the 
heart  emptied  of  and  cleansed  from  all  sin  and  defile- 
ment, and  filled  with  humility,  meekness,  gentleness, 
goodness,  justice,  holiness,  mercy,  and  truth,  and  love 
to  God  and  man.  And  that  this  implies  a  thorough 
emptying  of  the  soul  of  every  thing  that  is  not  of  God, 
and  leads  not  to  him,  is  evident  from  this,  that  whatGod 
fills  neither  sin  nor  Satan  can  fill,  nor  in  any  wise  oc- 
cupy; for,  if  a  vessel  be  filled  with  one  fluid  or  substance, 
not  a  drop  or  particle  of  any  other  kind  can  enter  it, 
without  displacing  the  same  quantum  of  the  original 
matter  as  that  which  is  afterward  introduced.  God  can- 
not be  said  to  fill  the  whole  soul  while  any  place,  part, 
passion,  or  faculty  is  filled,  or  less  or  more  occupied,  by 


140 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


sin  or  Satan:  and  as  neither  sin  nor  Satan  can  be  where 
God  fills  and  occupies  the  whole,  so  the  terms  of  the 
prayer  state  that  Satan  shall  neither  have  any  dominion 
over  that  soul  nor  being  in  it.  A  fulness  of  humility 
precludes  all  pride;  of  meekness,  precludes  anger;  of 
gentleness,  all  ferocity;  of  goodness,  all  evil;  of  justice, 
all  injustice;  of  holiness,  all  sin;  of  mercy,  all  unkind- 
ness  and  revenge;  of  truth,  all  falsity  and  dissimulation; 
and  where  God  is  loved  with  all  the  heart,  soul,  mind, 
and  strength,  there  is  no  room  for  enmity  or  hatred  to 
him,  or  to  any  thing  connected  with  him;  so,  where  a 
man  loves  his  neighbor  as  himself,  no  ill  shall  be  worked 
to  that  neighbor;  but,  on  the  contrary,  every  kind  alTec- 
tion  will  exist  toward  him;  and  every  kind  action,  so  far 
as  power  and  circumstances  can  permit,  will  be  done  to 
him.  Thus  the  being  filled  with  God's  fulness  will  pro- 
duce constant,  pious,  and  afTsctionate  obedience  to  him, 
and  unvarying  benevolence  towards  one's  neighbor;  that 
is,  any  man,  any  and  every  human  being.  Such  a  man 
is  saved  from  all  sin;  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  liim;  and  he 
ever  possesses  and  acts  under  (he  influence  of  that  love 
to  God  and  man  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  It  is 
impossible,  with  any  Scriptural  or  rational  consistency, 
to  understand  these  words  in  any  lower  sense;  but  how 
much  more  they  imply,  (and  more  they  do  imply,)  who 
can  tell? 

Many  preachers,  and  multitudes  of  professing  people, 
are  studious  to  find  out  how  many  imperfections  and 
infidelities,  and  how  much  inward  sinfulness,  are  con- 
sistent with  a  safe  state  in  religion;  but  how  few,  very 
few,  are  bringing  out  the  fair  gospel  standard  to  try  the 
height  of  the  members  of  the  church;  whether  they  be 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


141 


lit  for  the  heavenly  army;  whether  their  stature  be 
such  as  qualifies  them  for  the  ranks  of  the  church  mili- 
tant! "the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness"  is 
seldom  seen;  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  littleness, 
dwarfishness,  and  emptiness,  is  often  exhibited. 

Some  say  "The  body  of  sin  in  believers  is,  indeed, 
an  enfeebled,  conquered,  and  deposed  tyrant,  and  the 
stroke  of  death  finishes  its  destruction."  So,  then,  the 
death  of  Christ  and  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
were  only  sufficient  to  depose  and  enfeeble  the  tyrant  sin; 
but  our  death  must  come  in  to  effect  his  total  destruc- 
tion! Thus  our  death  is,  at  least  partially,  our  Saviour, 
and  thus  that  which  was  an  effect  of  sin,  ("for  sin  en- 
tered into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,")  becomes  the 
means  of  finally  destroying  it:  that  is,  the  effect  of  a 
cause  can  become  so  powerful  as  to  re-act  upon  that 
cause  and  produce  its  annihilation!  The  divinity  and 
philosophy  of  tliis  sentiment  are  equally  absurd.  It  is 
the  blood  of  Christ  alone  that  cleanses  from  all  unright- 
eousness; and  the  sanctification  of  a  believer  is  no  more 
dependant  on  death  than  his  justification.  If  it  be  said 
that  "believers  do  not  cease  from  sin  till  they  die," 
I  have  only  to  say  they  are  such  believers  as  do  not 
make  a  proper  use  of  their  faith:  and  what  can  be  said 
more  of  the  whole  herd  of  transgressors  and  infidels? 
They  cease  to  sin  when  they  cease  to  breathe.  If  the 
Christian  religion  bring  no  other  privileges  than  this  to 
its  upright  followers,  well  may  we  ask,  "Wherein  doth 
the  wise  man  differ  from  the  fool,  for  they  have  both 
one  end!"  But  the  whole  gospel  teaches  a  contrary 
doctrine. 

It  is  strange  there  should  be  found  a  person  believing 


142 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


the  whole  gospel  system  and  yet  living  in  sin!  "Salva- 
tion from  sin"  is  the  long  continued  sound,  as  it  is  the 
spirit  and  design,  of  the  gospel.  Our  Christian  name, 
our  baptismal  covenant,  our  profession  of  faith  in  Christ, 
and  avowed  belief  in  his  word,  all  call  us  to  this:  can  it 
be  said  that  we  have  any  louder  calls  than  they?  Our 
self-interest,  as  it  respects  the  happiness  of  a  godly  life, 
and  the  glories  of  eternal  blessedness;  the  pains  and 
wretchedness  of  a  life  of  sin,  leading  to  the  worm  that 
never  dies,  and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched;  second, 
most  powerfully,  the  above  calls.  Reader,  lay  these 
things  to  heart,  and  answer  this  question  to  God:  "How 
shall  I  escape  if  I  neglect  so  great  salvation?"  And 
then,  as  thy  conscience  shall  answer,  let  thy  mind  and 
thy  hand  begin  to  act. 

As  there  is  no  end  to  the  merits  of  Christ  incarnated 
and  crucified;  no  bounds  to  the  mercy  and  love  of  God; 
no  let  or  hinderance  to  the  almighty  energy  and  sancti- 
fying influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  no  limits  to  the 
improvability  of  the  human  soul;  so  there  can  be  no 
bounds  to  the  saving  influence  which  God  will  dispense 
to  the  heart  of  every  genuine  believer.  We  may  ask 
and  receive,  and  our  joy  shall  be  full!  Well  may  we 
bless  and  praise  God,  "who  has  called  us  into  such  a 
state  of  salvation;"  a  state  in  which  we  may  be  thus 
saved;  and,  by  the  grace  of  that  state,  continue  in  the 
same  to  the  end  of  our  lives! 

As  sin  is  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  mankind,  the  gospel 
system,  which  exhibits  its  cure,  is  fitly  called  "good 
news,  or  glad  tidings;"  and  it  is  good  news,  because  it 
proclaims  Him  who  saves  his  people  from  their  sins; 
and  it  would  indeed  be  dishonorable  to  that  grace,  and 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


143 


the  infinite  merit  of  Him  who  procured  it,  to  suppose, 
much  more  to  assert,  that  sin  had  made  wounds  which 
grace  would  not  heal.  Of  such  a  triumph  Satan  shall 
ever  be  deprived. 

"He  that  committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil."  Hear  this, 
ye  who  plead  for  Baal,  and  cannot  bear  the  thought  of 
that  doctrine  that  states  believers  are  to  be  saved  from 
all  sin  in  this  life!  He  who  committeth  sin  is  a  child 
of  the  devil,  and  shows  that  he  has  still  the  nature  of  the 
devil  in  hitn;  "for  the  devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning:" 
he  was  the  father  of  sin, — brought  sin  into  the  world, 
and  maintains  sin  into  the  world  by  living  in  the  hearts 
of  his  own  children,  and  thus  leading  them  to  transgres- 
sion; and  persuading  others  that  they  cannot  be  saved 
from  their  sins  in  this  life,  that  he  may  secure  a  continual 
residence  in  their  heart.  He  also  knows  that  if  he  has 
a  place  throughout  life,  he  will  probably  have  it  at  death; 
and,  if  so,  throughout  eternity. 

"That  is,"  say  some,  "he  does  not  sin  habitually  as 
he  formerly  did."  This  is  bringing  the  influence  and 
privileges  of  the  heavenly  birth  very  low  indeed.  We 
have  the  most  indubitable  evidence  that  many  of  the 
heathen  philosophers  had  acquired,  by  mental  discipline 
and  cultivation,  an  entire  ascendancy  over  all  their 
wonted  vicious  habits.  Perhaps  my  reader  will  recol- 
lect the  story  of  the  physiognomist,  who,  coming  into 
the  place  where  Socrates  was  delivering  a  lecture,  his 
pupils,  wishing  to  put  the  principles  of  the  man's  science 
to  proof,  desired  him  to  examine  the  face  of  their  master, 
and  say  what  his  moral  character  was.  After  a  full 
contemplation  of  the  philosopher's  visage,  he  pronounced 
him  "the  most  gluttonous,  drunken,  brutal,  and  libidinous 


144  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION, 

old  man  that  he  ever  met."  As  the  character  of  So- 
crates was  the  reverse  of  all  this,  his  disciples  began  to 
insult  the  physiognomist.  Socrates  interfered,  and  said, 
"The  princijjles  of  his  science  may  be  very  correct;  for 
such  I  was,  but  I  have  conquered  it  by  my  philosophy." 
O  ye  Christian  divines!  ye  real  or  pretended  gospel  min- 
isters! will  ye  allow  the  influence  of  the  grace  of  Christ 
a  sway  not  even  so  extensive  as  that  of  the  philosophy 
of  a  heathen  who  never  heard  of  the  true  God? 

Many  tell  us  that  "no  man  can  be  saved  from  sin  in 
this  life."  Will  these  persons  permit  us  to  ask.  How 
much  sin  may  we  be  saved  from  in  this  life?  Some- 
thing must  be  ascertained  on  this  subject:  1.  That  the 
soul  may  have  some  determinate  object  in  view.  2.  That 
it  may  not  lose  its  time,  or  employ  its  faith  and  energy, 
in  praying  for  what  is  impossible  to  be  attained.  Now, 
as  Christ  was  manifested  to  take  away  our  sins,  to  de- 
stroy the  works  of  the  devil;  and  as  his  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin  and  unrighteousness,  is  it  not  evident  that 
God  means  that  believers  in  Christ  shall  be  saved  from 
all  sin?  For  if  his  blood  cleanses  from  all  sin,  if  he 
destroys  the  works  of  the  devil,  (and  sin  is  the  work  of 
the  devil,)  and  if  he  who  is  born  of  God  does  not  com- 
mit  sin,  then  he  must  be  cleansed  from  all  sin;  and  while 
he  continues  in  that  state,  he  lives  without  sinning  against 
God,  for  the  seed  of  God  remaineth  in  him,  and  he 
cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born,  or  begotten  of  God. 

How  strangely  warped  and  blinded  by  prejudice  and 
system  must  men  be  who,  in  the  face  of  such  evidence 
as  this,  will  still  dare  to  maintain  that  no  man  can  be 
saved  from  his  sin  in  this  life;  but  must  daily  commit 
sin  in  thought,  word,  and  deed,  as  the  Westminster 


KNTIRE  SANCTIFICATION.  145 

divines  have  asserted!  that  is,  every  man  is  laid  under 
the  fatal  necessity  of  sinning  as  many  ways  against  God 
as  the  devil  does  through  his  natural  wickedness  and 
malice;  for  even  the  devil  himself  can  have  no  other 
way  of  sinning  against  God,  except  by  thought,  word, 
and  deed.  And  yet,  according  to  these  and  others  of 
the  same  creed,  "even  the  most  regenerate  sin  against 
God  as  long  as  they  live."  It  is  a  miserable  salvo  to 
say  "they  do  not  sin  so  much  as  they  used  to  do;  and 
they  do  not  sin  habitually,  only  occasionally.  Alas 
for  this  system!  Could  not  the  grace  that  saved  them 
partially  save  them  perfectly?  Could  not  that  power 
of  God  that  saved  them  from  habitual  sin  save  them 
from  occasional  or  accidental  sin?  Shall  we  suppose 
that  sin,  how  potent  soever  it  may  be,  is  as  potent  as 
the  Spirit  and  grace  of  Christ.?  And  may  we  not  ask, 
If  it  was  for  God's  glory  and  their  good  that  they 
were  partially  saved,  would  it  not  have  been  more  for 
God's  glory  and  their  good  if  they  had  been  perfectly 
saved?  Bu.t  the  letter  and  spirit  of  God's  word,  and  the 
design  and  end  of  Christ's  coming,  is  to  save  his  people 
from  their  sins. 

The  perfection  of  the  gospel  system  is  not  that  it 
makes  allowances  for  sin,  but  that  it  makes  an  atone- 
ment for  it;  not  that  it  tolerates  sin,  but  that  it  de- 
stroys it. 

However  inveterate  the  disease  of  sin  may  be,  the 
grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  can  fully  cure  it. 

God  sets  no  bounds  to  the  communications  of  his 
grace  and  Spirit  to  them  that  are  faithful.  And  as 
there  are  no  bounds  to  the  graces,  so  there  should  be 
none  to  the  exercise  of  those  graces.    No  man  can  ever 


146  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

feel  that  he  loves  God  too  much,  or  that  he  loves  maa 
too  much  for  God's  sake. 

Be  so  purified  and  refined  in  your  souls,  by  the  in- 
dwelling Spirit,  that  even  the  light  of  God  shining  into 
your  hearts  shall  not  be  able  to  discover  a  fault  that  the 
love  of  God  has  not  purged  away. 

"Be  thou  perfect,  and  thou  shalt  be  perfection,"  that 
is,  altogether  perfect:  be  just  such  as  the  holy  God 
would  have  thee  to  be,  as  the  Almighty  God  can  make 
thee,  and  live  as  the  all-sufficient  God  shall  support  thee; 
for  He  alone  who  makes  the  soul  holy  can  preserve  it  in 
holiness.  Our  blessed  Lord  appears  to  have  these 
words  pointedly  in  view,  "Ye  shall  be  perfect,  as  your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect,"  Matt,  v,  48.  But 
what  does  this  imply?  Why,  to  be  saved  from  all  the 
power,  the  guilt,  and  the  contamination  of  sin.  This  is 
only  the  negative  part  of  salvation,  but  it  has  also  a 
positive  part;  to  be  made  perfect — to  be  perfect  as  our 
Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect,  to  be  filled  with  the 
fulness  of  God,  to  have  Christ  dwelling  continually  in 
the  heart  by  faith,  and  to  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  love. 
This  is  the  state  in  which  man  was  created;  for  he  was 
made  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God.  This  is  the 
state  from  which  man  fell;  for  he  broke  the  command  of 
God.  And  this  is  the  state  into  which  every  human 
soul  must  be  raised  who  would  dwell  with  God  in  glory; 
for  Christ  was  incarnated  and  died  to  put  away  sin  by 
the  sacrifice  of  himself.  What  a  glorious  privilege! 
And  who  can  doubt  the  possibility  of  its  attainment  who 
believes  in  the  omnipotent  love  of  God,  the  infinite 
merit  of  the  blood  of  atonement,  and  the  all-pervading 
and  all-purifying  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost?    How  many 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


147 


miserable  souls  employ  that  time  to  dispute  and  cavil 
against  the  possibility  of  being  saved  from  their  sins, 
which  they  should  devote  to  praying  and  believing  that 
they  might  be  saved  out  of  the  hands  of  their  enemies! 
But  some  may  say,  "You  overstrain  the  meaning  of  the 
term;  it  signifies  only,  Be  sincere;  for,  as  perfect  obe- 
dience is  impossible,  God  accepts  of  sincere  obedience." 
If  by  siiici'rili/  the  objection  means  "good  desires,  and 
generally  good  purposes,  with  an  impure  heart  and 
spotted  life,"  then  I  assert  that  no  such  thing  is  implied 
in  the  text,  nor  in  the  original  word.  But  if  the  word 
sincerity  be  taken  in  its  proper  and  literal  sense,  I  have 
no  objection  to  it.  Sincere  is  compounded  of  sine  cera, 
"without  wax;"  and,  applied  to  moral  subjects,  is  a 
metaphor  taken  from  clarified  honey,  from  which  every 
atom  of  the  comb  or  wax  is  separated.  Then  let  it  be 
proclaimed  from  heaven,  "Walk  before  me,  and  be  sin- 
cere! Purge  out  the  old  leEven,  that  ye  may  be  a  new 
lump  unto  God;  and  thus  ye  shall  be  perfect,  as  your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  This  is  sincerity. 
Reader,  remember  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.  Ten  thousand  quibbles  on  insulated  texts 
can  never  lessen,  much  less  destroy,  the  merit  and  efficacy 
of  the  great  atonement. 

God  never  gives  a  precept  but  he  ofiers  sufficient 
grace  to  enable  thee  to  perform  it.  Believe  as  he 
would  have  thee,  and  act  as  he  shall  strengthen  thee, 
and  thou  wilt  believe  all  things  savingly,  and  do  all 
things  well. 

God  is  holy;  and  this  is  the  eternal  reason  why  all 
his  people  should  be  holy — should  be  purified  from  all 
filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in 


148  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

the  fear  of  God.  No  faith  in  any  particular  creed,  no 
religious  observance,  no  acts  of  benevolence  and  charity, 
no  mortification,  attrition,  or  contrition  can  be  a  substi- 
tute for  this.  We  must  be  made  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature.  We  must  be  saved  from  our  sins — from  the 
corruption  that  is  in  the  world,  and  be  holy  within  and 
righteous  without,  or  never  see  God.  For  this  very 
purpose  Jesus  Christ  lived,  died,  and  revived,  that  he 
might  purify  us  unto  himself;  that  through  faith  in  his 
blood  our  sins  might  be  blotted  out,  and  our  souls 
restored  to  the  image  of  God.  Reader,  art  thou  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  after  righteousness?  Then,  blessed 
art  thou,  for  thou  shalt  be  filled. 

God  is  ever  ready,  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  to  carry 
us  forward  to  every  degree  of  life,  light,  and  love,  neces- 
sary to  prepare  us  for  an  eternal  weiglit  of  glory.  There 
can  be  little  difticulty  in  attaining  the  end  of  our  faith, 
the  salvation  of  our  souls  from  all  sin,  if  God  carry  us 
forward  to  it;  and  this  he  will  do,  if  we  submit  to  be 
saved  in  his  own  way,  and  on  his  own  terms.  Many 
make  a  violent  outcry  against  the  doctrine  of  per- 
fection; that  is,  against  the  heart  being  cleansed  from 
all  sin  in  this  life,  and  filled  with  love  to  God  and  man; 
because  they  judge  it  to  be  impossible!  Is  it  too  much 
to  say  of  these,  that  they  know  neither  the  Scripture 
nor  the  power  of  God!  Surely,  the  Scripture  promises 
the  thing,  and  the  power  of  God  can  carry  us  on  to  the 
possession  of  it. 

The  object  of  all  God's  promises  and  dispensations 
was  to  bring  fallen  man  back  to  the  image  of  God, 
which  he  had  lost.  This,  indeed,  is  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  the  religion  of  Christ.    We  have  partaken  of 


EOTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


149 


an  earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish  nature;  the  design  of 
God,  by  Christ,  is  to  remove  this,  and  to  make  us  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature,  and  save  us  from  all  the 
corruption,  in  principle  and  fact,  which  is  in  the  world. 

It  is  said  that  Enoch  not  only  "walked  with  God," 
setting  him  always  before  his  eyes — beginninjr,  contiiiu- 
ing,  and  ending  every  work  to  his  glory — but  also  that 
"he  pleased  God,"  and  had  "the  testimony  that  he  did 
please  God."  Hence  we  learn  that  it  was  then  possible 
to  live  so  as  not  to  offend  God:  consequently,  so  as  not 
to  commit  sin  against  him,  and  to  have  the  continual 
evidence  or  testimony  tiiat  all  that  a  man  did  and  pur- 
posed was  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  searches 
the  heart,  and  by  whom  devices  are  weighed:  and  if  it 
was  possible  then,  it  is  surely,  through  the  same  grace, 
possible  now;  for  God,  and  Christ,  and  faith  are  still  the 
same. 

The  petition,  "Thy  will  be  done  in  earth;  as  it  is  in 
heaven,"  certainly  points  out  a  deliverance  from  all  sin; 
for  nothing  that  is  unholy  can  consist  with  the  divine 
will;  and,  if  this  be  fulfilled  in  man,  surely  sin  shall  be 
banished  from  his  soul.  Again:  the  iioly  angels  never 
mingle  iniquity  with  their  loving  obedience;  and,  as 
our  Lord  teaches  us  to  pray  that  we  do  his  will  here 
as  they  do  it  in  lieaven,  can  it  l)e  thought  he  would  put 
a  peti'ion  into  our  mouths  the  fulfilment  of  which  was 
impossible? 

The  reader  is  probably  amazed  at  the  paucity  of  large 
stars  in  the  whole  finiiament  of  heaven.  Will  he  permit 
me  to  carry  his  mind  a  little  farther,  and  either  stand 
astonished  at,  or  deplore  with  me  the  fact  that,  out  of 
the  millions  of  Christians  in  the  vicinity  and  splendor 
14 


150 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


of  the  eternal  Sun  of  righteousness,  how  very  few  are 
found  of  the  first  order!  How  very  few  can  stand  ex- 
amination by  the  test  hud  down  in  1  Cor.  xiii!  How 
very  few  love  God  with  all  their  heart,  soul,  mind,  and 
strength,  and  their  neighbors  as  themselves!  How  few 
mature  Christians  are  found  in  the  cliurch!  How  few 
are,  in  ail  things,  living  for  eternity!  How  little  light, 
how  little  heat,  and  how  little  influence  and  activity, 
are  to  be  found  among  them  that  bear  the  name  of 
Christ!  How  few  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  will  the 
Son  of  God  have  to  deck  the  crown  of  his  glory!  Few 
are  striving  to  excel  in  righteousness;  and  it  seems  to 
be  a  principal  concern  with  many,  to  find  out  how  little 
grace  they  may  have,  and  yet  escape  hell;  how  little 
conformity  to  the  will  of  God  they  may  have,  and  yet 
get  to  heaven.  In  the  fear  of  God  I  register  this  testi- 
mony, that  I  have  perceived  it  to  be  the  labor  of  many 
to  lower  the  standard  of  Christianity,  and  to  soften 
down,  or  explain  away,  those  projnises  of  God  that 
himself  has  linked  with  duties;  ami,  because  they  know 
they  cannot  be  saved  by  their  good  works,  they  are 
contented  to  have  no  good  works  at  all;  and  thus  the 
necessity  of  Christian  obedience,  and  Christian  holi- 
ness, makes  no  prominent  part  of  some  modern  creeds. 
Let  all  those  who  retain  tiie  apostolic  doctrine,  that  the 
blood  of  Christ  cleansetli  from  all  sin  in  this  life,  press 
every  believer  to  go  on  to  perfection,  and  expect  to  be 
saved,  while  here  below,  into  the  fulness  of  the  blessing 
of  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  To  all  such  my  soul  says.  La- 
bor to  show  yourselves  approved  unto  God;  workmen 
that  need  not  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of 
truth;  and  may  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prosper  in  your 
hands!  Amen. 


ENTIRE  SAKCTIFICATION. 


151 


Many  employ  that  time  in  brooding  and  mourning 
over  their  impure  hearts,  wliich  should  be  spent  in 
prayer  and  faith  before  God,  that  their  impurities  might 
be  washed  away.  In  what  a  stale  of  nonage  are  many 
members  of  the  Christian  church! 

I  ain  afraid  that  what  some  persons  call  their  infirmi- 
ties may  rather  be  called  their  strengths;  the  prevailing 
and  frequently  ruling  power  of  pride,  anger,  ill  vvill,&c.; 
for  how  few  think  evil  tempers  to  be  sins!  The  gentle 
term  "infirnjity"  softens  down  the  iniquity;  and  as  St. 
Paul,  so  great  and  so  holy  a  man,  say  they,  had  his 
infirmities,  how  can  they  expect  to  be  without  theirs? 
Tliese  should  know  that  they  are  in  a  dangerous  error; 
that  St.  Paul  means  nothing  of  the  kind;  for  he  speaks 
of  his  sufferings,  and  of  these  alone.  One  word  more: 
would  not  the  grace  and  power  of  Christ  appear  more 
conspicuous  in  slaying  the  lion  than  in  keeping  him 
chained?  in  destroying  sin,  root  and  branch,  and  filling 
the  soul  with  his  own  holiness,  with  love  to  God  and 
man,  with  the  mind,  all  the  holy,  heavenly  tempers  that 
were  in  himself,  than  in  leaving  these  impure  and  unholy 
tempers  ever  to  live,  and  often  to  reign,  in  the  heart? 
The  doctrine  is  discreditable  to  the  gospel,  and  wholly 
antichristian. 

"If  they  sin  against  thee,  for  there  is  no  man  that 
sinneth  not,"  I  Kings  viii,  46.  On  this  verse  we  may 
observe  that  the  second  clause,  as  it  is  here  translated, 
renders  the  su|)position  in  the  first  clause  entirely  nu- 
gatory; for  if  there  be  no  man  that  sinneth  not,  it  is 
"useless  to  say,  "If  they  sin;"  but  this  contradiction  is 
taken  away  by  reference  to  the  original,  which  should 
be  translated,  "If  they  shall  sin  against  thee;"  or, 


152  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

"Should  they  sin  against  thee;  for  there  is  no  man  that 
may  not  sin;"  that  is,  There  is  no  man  impeccable; 
none  infallible;  none  that  is  not  liable  to  transgress. 
This  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  various  parts 
of  the  Bible,  and  so  our  translators  have  understood  the 
original;  for,  even  in  the  thirty-first  verse  of  this  chap- 
ter, they  have  translated  yecheta,  "If  a  man  trespass;" 
wiiich  certainly  implies  he  might  or  might  not  do  it;  and 
III  this  way  they  have  translated  the  same  word,  "If  a 
soul  sin,'"  in  Lev.  v,  1;  vi,  2;  I  Sam.  ii,  25;  2  Chron. 
vi,  22:  and  in  several  other  places.  The  truth  is,  the 
Hebrew  has  no  mood  to  express  words  in  the  permis- 
sive or  optative  way;  but  to  express  this  sense,  it  uses 
the  future  tense  of  the  conjugation  leal.  This  text  has 
been  a  wonderful  stronghold  for  all  who  believe  that 
there  is  no  redemption  from  sin  in  this  life;  that  no 
man  can  live  without  committing  sin;  and  that  we  can- 
not be  entirely  freed  from  it  till  we  die.  1.  The  text 
speaks  no  such  doctrine;  it  only  speaks  of  the  possibility 
of  every  man  sinning;  and  this  must  be  true  of  a  state 
of  probation.  2.  There  is  not  another  text  in  the  divine 
records  that  is  more  to  the  purpose  than  this.  3.  The 
doctrine  is  flatly  in  opposition  to  the  design  of  the  gos- 
pel; for  Jesus  came  to  save  his  people  froii?  their  sins, 
and  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  4.  It  is  a  dan- 
gerous and  destructive  doctrine,  and  should  be  blotted 
out  of  every  Christian's  creed.  There  are  too  many 
who  are  seeking  to  e.xcuse  their  crimes  by  all  means  in 
their  power;  and  we  need  not  imbody  their  excuses  in  a 
creed,  to  complete  their  deception,  by  stating  that  their 
sins  are  unavoidable. 

The  soul  was  made  for  God,  and  can  never  be  united 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


153 


to  him,  nor  be  happy,  till  saved  from  sin.  He  who  is 
saved  from  his  sin,  and  united  to  God,  possesses  the 
utmost  felicity  that  the  human  soul  can  enjoy,  either  in 
this  or  the  coming  world. 

Where  a  soul  is  saved  from  all  sin,  it  is  capable  of 
being  fully  employed  in  the  work  of  the  Lord:  it  is  then, 
and  not  till  then,  fully  fitted  for  the  Master's  use. 

All  who  are  taught  of  Christ  are  not  only  saved,  but 
their  understandings  are  much  improved.  True  religion, 
civilization,  mental  improvement,  common  sense,  and 
orderly  behavior,  go  hand  in  hand. 

When  the  light  of  Christ  dwells  fully  in  the  heart,  it 
extends  its  influence  to  every  thought,  word,  and  action; 
and  directs  its  possessor  how  he  is  to  act  in  all  places 
and  circumstances. 

Our  souls  can  never  be  truly  happy  till  our  wills  be 
entirely  subjected  to,  and  become  one  with,  the  will 
of  God. 

While  there  is  an  empty,  longing  heart,  there  is  a  con- 
tinual overflowing  fountain  of  salvation.  If  we  find,  in 
any  place,  or  at  any  time,  that  the  oil  ceases  to  flow,  it 
is  because  there  are  no  empty  vessels  there;  no  souls 
hungering  and  thirsting  tor  righteousness.  We  find  fault 
with  the  dispensations  of  God's  mercy,  and  ask,  "Why 
were  the  former  days  better  than  these?"  Were  we  as 
much  in  earnest  for  our  salvation  as  our  forefathers  were 
for  theirs,  we  should  have  equal  supplies,  and  as  much 
reason  to  sing  aloud  of  divine  mercy. 

"Be  ye  holy,"  saith  the  Lord,  "for  I  am  holy.''  He 
who  can  give  thanks  at  the  remembrance  of  his  holiness 
is  one  who  loves  holiness;  who  hates  sin;  who  longs  to 
be  saved  from  it,  and  takes  encouragement  at  the  recol- 
14* 


154 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


lection  of  God's  holiness,  as  he  seeth  in  this  the  holy 
nature  which  he  is  to  share;  and  the  perfection  which  he 
is  here  to  attain.  But  most  who  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians hate  the  doctrine  of  holiness;  never  hear  it  incul- 
cated without  pain;  and  the  principal  part  of  their  studies 
and  those  of  their  pastors,  is  to  find  out  with  how  little 
holiness  they  can  rationully  expect  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  O  fatal  and  soul-destroying  delusion! 
How  long  will  a  holy  God  suffer  such  abominable  doc- 
trnies  to  pollute  his  church,  and  destroy  the  souls  of  men. 

Increase  in  the  image  and  favor  of  God.  Every  grace 
and  divine  influence  which  ye  have  received  is  a  seed, 
a  heavenly  seed,  which,  if  it  be  watered  with  the  dew  of 
heaven  from  above,  will  endlessly  increase  and  multiply 
Itself.  He  who  continues  to  believe,  love,  and  obey,  will 
grow  m  grace,  and  continually  increase  in  the  knowledge 
or  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  Sacrifice,  Sanctifier,  Counsellor, 
Preserver,  and  final  Saviour,  The  life  of  a  Christian  is 
a  growth:  he  is  at  first  born  of  God,  and  is  a  little  child: 
becomes  a  young  man  and  a  father  in  Christ.  Every 
father  was  once  an  infant;  and  had  he  not  grown,  he 
would  never  have  been  a  man.  Tiinse  who  content  them- 
selves with  the  grace  they  received  when  converted  to 
God,  are,  at  best,  in  a  continual  state  of  infancy;  but  we 
find,  in  the  order  of  nature,  that  the  infant  that  does  not 
grow,  and  grow  daily  too,  is  sickly,  and  soon  dies:  so, 
in  the  order  of  grace,  those  who  do  not  grow  up  into 
Jesus  Christ  are  sickly  and  will  soon  die — die  to  all  sense 
and  mfluence  of  heavenly  things.  There  are  many  who 
boast  of  the  grace  of  their  conversion;  persons  who  were 
never  more  than  babes,  and  have  long  since  lost  even 
that  grace,  because  they  did  not  grow  in  it.  Let  him 
that  readeth  understand. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATIOJT. 


155 


In  order  to  get  a  clean  heart,  a  man  must  know  and 
feel  its  depravity,  acknowledge  and  deplore  it  before 
God,  in  order  to  be  fully  sanctified.  Few  are  pardoned, 
because  they  do  not  feel  and  confess  their  sins;  and  few 
are  sanctified  and  cleansed  from  all  sin,  because  they  do 
not  feel  and  confess  their  own  sore  and  the  plague  of 
tlieir  hearts.  As  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  merit  of 
his  passion  and  death,  applied  by  faith,  purges  the  con- 
science from  all  dead  works,  so  the  same  cleanses  the 
heart  from  all  unrighteousness.  As  all  unrighteousness 
is  sin,  so  he  that  is  cleansed  from  all  unrighteousness  is 
cleansed  from  all  sin.  To  attempt  to  evade  this,  and 
plead  for  the  continuance  of  sin  in  the  heart  through  life, 
is  ungrateful,  wicked,  and  blasphemous;  for,  as  he  who 
says  he  has  not  sinned,  makes  God  a  liar,  who  has  de- 
clared the  contrary  through  every  part  of  his  revelation, 
so  he  that  says  the  blood  of  Christ  either  cannot  or  will 
not  cleanse  us  from  all  sin  in  this  life  gives  also  the  lie 
to  his  Maker,  who  has  declared  the  contrary,  and  thus 
shows  that  tiie  word,  the  doctrine  of  God,  is  not  in  him. 
Reader  it  is  the  birthright  of  every  child  of  God  to  be 
cleansed  from  all  sin,  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from 
the  world,  and  so  to  live  as  never  more  to  offend  his 
Maker.  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth, 
because  all  tilings  are  possible  to  the  infinitely  merito- 
rious blood  and  energetic  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Every  man  whose  heart  is  full  of  the  love  of  God  is 
full  of  humility;  for  there  is  no  man  so  humble  as  he 
whose  heart  is  cleansed  from  all  sin.  It  has  been  said 
that  indwelling  sin  humbles  us;  never  was  there  a  great- 
er falsity:  pride  is  the  very  essence  of  sin;  he  who  has 
sin  has  pride;  and  pride,  too,  in  proportion  to  his  sin:  this 


156 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


is  a  mere  popish  doctrine;  and,  strange  to  tell,  the  doc- 
trine on  which  their  doctrine  of  merit  is  founded!  They 
say,  God  leaves  concupiscence  in  the  heart  of  every 
Christian,  that,  in  striving  with  and  overco;ning  it  from 
time  to  time,  he  may  have  an  accumulation  of  meritori- 
ous acts.  Certain  Protestants  say,  "It  is  a  true  sign  of 
a  very  gracious  state  when  a  man  feels  and  deplores  his 
^  inbred  corruption."  How  near  do  these  come  to  the 
Papists,  whoso  doctrine  they  profess  to  detest  and  abhor! 
The  truth  is,  it  is  no  sign  of  grace  whatever;  it  only  ar- 
gues, as  they  use  it  that  the  man  has  got  light  to  show 
him  his  corruptions,  but  he  has  not  yet  got  grace  to  de- 
stroy them.  He  is  convinced  that  he  should  have  the 
mind  of  Christ,  but  he  feels  that  he  has  the  mind  of 
Satan;  he  deplores  it;  and,  if  his  bad  doctrine  do  not  pre- 
vent him,  he  will  not  rest  till  he  feels  the  blood  of  Clirist 
cleansing  him  from  all  sin. 

Can  any  man  expect  to  be  saved  from  his  inward  sin 
in  the  other  worKI?  None,  except  such  as  hold  the 
popish,  antiscriptural  doctrine  of  purgatory.  "But  this 
deliverance  is  expected  at  death."  Where  is  the  prom- 
ise that  it  shall  then  be  given?  There  is  not  one  such 
in  the  whole  Bible!  And  to  believe  for  a  thing  essen- 
tial to  our  glorification,  without  any  promise  to  support 
that  faith  in  reference  to  the  point  on  which  it  is  exer- 
cised, is  a  desperation  that  argues  as  well  the  absence 
of  true  faith  as  it  does  of  right  reason.  Multitudes  of 
such  persons  are  continually  deploring  their  want  of 
faith,  even  where  they  have  the  clearest  and  most  ex- 
plicit promises;  and  yet,  strange  to  tell,  risk  their  sal- 
vation at  the  hour  of  death  on  a  deliverance  that  is  no- 
where promised  in  the  sacred  oracles!   "But  who  has 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION.  157 

got  this  blessing?"  Every  one  who  has  come  to  God 
in  the  right  way  for  it.  "Where  is  such  a  one?"  Seek 
the  blessing  as  you  should  do,  and  you  will  soon  be 
able  to  answer  the  question.  "But  it  is  too  great  a 
blessing  to  be  expected.''  Nothing  is  too  great  for  a 
believer  to  expect,  which  God  has  promised,  and  Christ 
has  purchased  with  his  blood.  "If  I  hud  such  a  bless- 
sing,  1  should  not  be  able  to  retain  it."  All  things  are 
possible  to  him  that  beiieveth.  Besides,  like  all  other 
gifts  of  God,  it  comes  with  a  principle  of  preservation 
with  it;  "and  upon  all  thy  glory  there  shall  be  a  de- 
fence.'' "Still  such  an  unfaithful  person  as  I  cannot 
expect  it."  Perhaps  the  infidelity  you  deplore  came 
through  the  want  of  this  blessing:  and  as  to  worthless- 
ness,  no  soul  under  heaven  deserves  the  least  of  God's 
mercies.  It  is  not  for  thy  worthiness  that  he  has  given 
thee  any  thing,  but  for  the  sake  of  his  Son.  You  can 
say,  "When  I  felt  myself  a  sinner,  sinking  into  perdi- 
tion, I  did  then  flee  to  the  atoning  blood,  and  found  par- 
don: but  this  sanctification  is  a  far  greater  work." — 
No;  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  justification  is 
far  greater  than  sanctification.  When  thou  wert  a  sin- 
ner, ungodly,  an  enemy  in  thy  mind,  by  wicked  works, 
a  child  of  the  devil,  an  heir  of  hell,  God  pardoned  thee 
on  thy  casting  thy  soul  on  the  merit  of  the  great  sacri- 
ficial Oflfering:  thy  sentence  was  reversed,  thy  state  was 
changed,  thou  wert  put  among  the  children,  and  God's 
Spirit  witnessed  with  thine  that  thou  wert  his  child. 
What  a  change!  and  what  a  blessinji!  What  then  is 
this  complete  sanctification?  It  is  the  cleansing  of  the 
blood  that  has  not  been  cleansed;  it  is  washing  the 
soul  of  a  true  believer  from  the  remains  of  sin;  it  is  the 


158  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

making  one,  who  is  already  a  child  of  God,  more  holy, 
that  he  may  be  more  happy,  more  useful  in  the  world, 
and  bring  more  glory  to  his  heavenly  Father.  Great  as 
this  work  is,  how  litlle,  humanly  speaking,  is  it  when 
compared  with  what  God  has  already  done  for  thee! 
But  suppose  it  were  ten  thousand  times  greater,  is  any 
thing  too  hard  fir  God?  Are  not  all  things  possible  to 
him  that  believes?  And  does  not  the  blood  of  Christ 
cleanse  from  all  unrighteousness?  Arise,  then,  and  be 
baptized  with  a  greater  eOusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
wash  away  thy  sin,  calling  on  the  naiise  tif  llio  Lord. 

Art  thou  wf^ary  of  that  carnal  iiiind  which  is  enmity 
to  God?  Canst  tluni  b-  happy  while  thou  art  unholy? 
Dost  thou  know  any  thing  of  God's  love  to  thee?  Dost 
thou  not  know  that  he  has  given  his  Son  to  die  for  thee? 
Dost  thou  love  him  in  return  for  his  love?  Hast  thou 
even  a  little  love  to  him.'  And  canst  thou  love  him  a 
little,  without  desiring  to  love  him  more?  Dost  thou  not 
feel  that  thy  happiness  grows  in  proportion  to  thy  love 
and  subjection  to  him?  Dost  thou  not  wish  to  be  happy? 
And  dost  thou  not  know  that  holiness  and  happiness  are 
as  inseparable  as  sin  and  misery?  Canst  thou  have  too 
much  happiness  or  too  much  holiness?  Canst  thou  be 
made  holy  and  happy  too  soon?  Art  thou  not  weary  of 
a  sinful  heart?  Are  not  thy  bad  tempers,  pride,  anger, 
peevishness,  fretfulness,  covetousness,  and  the  various 
unholy  passions  that  too  often  agitate  thy  soul,  a  source 
of  misery  and  wo  to  thee?  And  canst  thou  be  unwilling 
to  have  them  destroyed?  Arise,  then,  and  shake  thy- 
self from  the  dust,  and  call  upon  thy  God!  His  ear  is 
not  heavy  that  it  cannot  hear:  his  hand  is  not  shortened 
that  it  cannot  save.    Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time! 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


159 


Now,  is  the  day  of  salvation!  It  was  necessary  that  Jesus 
Christ  sliould  die  for  thee,  that  thou  mi^htest  be  saved; 
but  he  gave  up  his  life  for  thee  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago!  and  himself  invites  thee  to  come,  for  all  things  are 
now  ready.  Such  is  the  natuj-e  of  God  that  he  cannot 
be  more  willing  to  save  thee  in  any  future  time  than  he 
is  now.  He  wills  that  thou  shouldst  love  him  now  with 
all  th}  heart;  but  he  knows  that  thou  canst  not  thus  love 
him  till  the  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind  is  removed;  and 
this  he  is  willing  this  moment  to  destroy.  The  power  of 
the  Lord  is  therefore  present  to  heal.  Turn  from  every 
sin;  give  up  every  idol;  cut  off  every  right  hand;  pluck 
out  every  right  eye.  Re  willing  to  part  with  thy  enemies 
that  thou  mayest  receive  thy  chief  friend.  Thy  day  is  far 
spent,  the  night  is  at  hand,  the  graves  are  ready  for  thee, 
and  here  thou  hast  no  abiding  city.  A  month,  a  week,  a 
day,  an  hour,  yea,  even  a  moment,  may  send  thee  into 
eternity.  And  if  thou  die  in  thy  sins,  where  God  is  thou 
shah  never  come.  Do  not  expect  redemption  in  death:  it 
can  do  nothing  for  thee  even  under  the  best  consideration: 
it  is  thy  last  enemy.  Remember  then  that  nothing  but  the 
blood  of  Jesus  can  cleanse  thee  from  all  unrighteousness. 
Lay  hold,  therefore,  on  the  hope,  that  is  set  before  thee. 
The  gate  may  appear  strait;  but  strive,  and  thou  shalt 
pass  through!  "Come  unto  me,''  says  Jesus.  Hear  his 
voice,  believe  at  all  risks,  and  struggle  into  God.  Amen 
and  Amen! 

In  no  part  of  the  Scriptures  are  we  directed  to  seek 
holiness  gradatim.  We  are  to  come  to  God  as  well  for 
an  instantaneous  and  complete  purification  from  all  sin, 
as  for  an  instantaneous  pardon.  Neither  the  seriatim 
pardon,  nor  the  gradatim  purification,  exists  in  the  Bible. 


160 


ENTIRE  SANCTIPICATION. 


It  is  when  the  soul  is  purified  from  all  sin  that  it  can 
properly  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Clirist: — as  the  field  may  be  expected  to  pro- 
duce a  good  crop,  and  all  the  seed  vegetate,  when  the 
thorns,  thistles,  briers,  and  noxious  weeds  of  every  kind 
are  grubbed  out  of  it. 

From  every  view  of  the  subject,  it  appears  that  the 
blesshig  of  a  clean  heart,  and  the  happiness  consequent 
on  it,  may  be  obtained  in  this  life;  because  here,  not  in 
the  future  world  are  we  to  be  saved.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, such  blessings  are  offered,  they  may  be  received; 
but  all  the  graces  and  blessings  of  the  gospel  are  offered 
at  all  times;  and  when  they  are  offered,  they  may  be  re- 
ceived. Every  sinner  is  exhorted  to  turn  from  the  evd  of 
his  way,  to  repent  of  sin,  and  supplicate  the  throne  of 
grace  for  pardon.  In  tlic  same  moment  in  which  he  is 
commanded  to  turn,  in  that  moment  he  may  and  should 
return.  He  does  not  receive  the  exhortation  to  repent- 
ance to-day  that  he  may  become  a  penitent  at  some  future 
time.  Every  penitent  is  exhorted  to  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus,  that  he  may  receive  remission  of  sins: — he  does 
not,  he  cannot  understand  thut  the  blessing  thus  promised 
is  not  to  be  received  to-day,  but  at  some  future  time.  In 
like  manner,  to  every  believer  the  new  heart  and  the 
right  spirit  are  offered  in  the  present  moment;  that  they 
may  in  that  moment,  bo  received.  For  as  the  work  of 
cleansing  and  renewing  the  iieart  is  the  work  of  God,  his 
almighty  povvercan  pertbrm  it  in  a  moment,  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye.  And  as  it  is  this  moment  our  duty  to  love 
God  with  all  our  heart,  and  we  cannot  do  this  till  he 
cleanse  our  hearts,  consequently  he  is  ready  to  do  it 
this  moment,  because  he  wills  that  we  should  in  this 


KNTIRE  SANCTIFICATION.  161 

moment  love  him.  Therefore  we  may  justly  say,  "Now 
is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  He 
who  in  the  beginiiiing  caused  light  in  a  moment  to  shine 
out  of  darkness,  can  in  a  moment  shine  into  our  hearts, 
and  give  us  to  see  the  light  of  his  glory  in  the  fece  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  moment,  therefore,  we  may  be 
emptied  of  sin,  filled  with  holiness,  and  become  truly 
happy. 

►  Such  cleansed  people  never  forget  the  horrible  pit 
*  and  miry  clay  out  of  which  they  have  been  brought.  And 
•  can  they  then  be  proud?  No!  they  loathe  themselves  in 
their  own  sight.  They  can  never  forgive  themselves 
for  having  sinned  against  so  good  a  God  and  so  loving  a 
Saviour.  And  can  they  undervalue  Him  by  whose  blood 
they  were  bought,  and  by  whose  blood  they  were  cleansed? 
No!  That  is  impossible:  they  now  see  Jesus  as  they 
ought  to  see  him;  they  see  him  in  his  splendor,  because 
they  fee!  him  in  his  victory  and  triumph  over  sin.  To 
^  them  that  thus  believe  he  is  precious;  and  he  was  never 
so  precious  as  now.  As  to  their  not  needing  him  when 
thus  saved  from  their  sins,  we  may  as  well  say,  as  soon 
may  the  creation  not  need  the  sustaining  hand  of  God, 
because  the  works  are  finished!  Learn  this,  that  as  it 
requires  the  same  power  to  sustain  creation  as  to  produce 
it;  so  it  requires  the  same  Jesus  who  cleansed  to  keep 
clean.  They  feel  that  it  is  only  through  his  continued 
indwelling  that  they  are  kept  holy,  and  happy,  and  useful 
Were  he  to  leave  them,  the  original  darkness  and  king- 
dom of  death  would  soon  be  restored. 


15 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION, 


BY  REV.  J.  WESLEY,  A.  M. 


Not  as  ihouifh  1  ha  i  already  atlaiiieil,  either  were  already  perlecl. 

Phil.  Hi,  12. 

1.  There  is  scarcely  any  expression  in  holy  writ, 
which  has  given  more  oflence  than  this.  The  word  per- 
fect is  what  many  cannot  bear.  The  very  sound  of  it  is 
an  abomination  to  them.  And  whosoever  preaches  ^er- 
fection,  (as  the  phrase  is,)  i.  e.  asserts  that  it  is  attain- 
able in  this  life,  runs  great  hazard  of  being  accounted  by 
them,  worse  than  a  heathen  man  or  a  publican. 

2.  And,  hence,  some  have  advised,  wholly  to  lay  aside 
the  use  of  those  expressions;  because  they  have  given  so 
great  offence.  But  are  they  not  found  in  the  oracles  of 
God?  If  so,  by  what  authority,  can  any  messenger  of 
God  lay  them  aside,  even  though  all  men  should  be 
offended?  We  have  not  so  learned  Christ;  neither  may 
-we  thus  give  place  to  the  devil.  Whatsoever  God  hath 
spoken,  that  will  we  speak,  whether  men  will  hear,  or 
whether  they  will  forbear:  knowing  that,  then  alone  can 
any  minister  of  Christ  be,  "pure  from  the  blood  of  all 
men,''  when  he  hath  "not  shunned  to  declare  unto  them 
all  the  counsel  of  God.'' 

8.  We  may  not  therefore,  lay  these  expressions  aside, 
seeing  they  are  the  words  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  But 
we  may  and  ought  to  explain  the  meaning  of  them;  that 


164  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION, 

those  who  are  sincere  of  heart,  may  not  err  to  the  right 
hand  or  left  from  the  mark  of  the  prize  of  their  high 
calling.  And  this  is  the  more  needful  to  be  done,  be- 
cause in  the  verse,  already  repeated,  the  apostle  speaks  of 
himself  as  not  perfect:  "Not,"  saith  he,  "as  though  I  were 
already  perfect,''  And  yet  immediately  after,  in  the 
fifteenth  verse,  he  speaks  of  himself,  yea  and  many  ethers? 
as  perfect.  "Let  us,''  saith  he,  "as  many  as  be  perfect, 
be  thus  minded." 

4.  In  order,  therefore,  to  remove  the  difficulty  arising 
irom  this  seeming  contradiction,  as  well  as  to  give  light 
to  them  who  are  pressing  forward  to  the  mark,  and  that 
those  who  are  lame  be  not  turned  out  of  the  way,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  show. 

First,  In  what  sense  Christians  are  not:  and, 

Secondly,  In  what  sense  they  are,  perfect. 

I.  1.  In  the  first  place,  1  shall  endeavor  to  show,  In 
•r-  what  sense  Christians  are  not  pcTfect.  And  both  from 
experience  and  scripture  it  appears,  first,  that  they  are 
not  perfect  in  knowledge:  they  are  not  so  perfect  in  this 
life;  as  to  be  free  from  ignorance.  They  know,  it  may 
be  in  common  with  other  men,  many  things  relating  to 
the  present  world:  and  they  know,  with  regard  to  the 
world  to  come,  the  general  truths  which  God  hath  reveal- 
ed. They  know,  likewise,  (what  the  natural  man  receiv. 
eth  not;  for  these  things  are  spiritually  discerned,)  "what 
manner  of  love  it  is,  wherewith  the  Father  hath  loved 
them,  that  tliey  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God;''  they 
know  the  mighty  working  of  his  spirit  in  their  heartsi 
and  the  wisdom  of  his  providence,  directing  all  their 
paths,  and  causing  all  things  to  work  together  for  their 
good.    Yea,  they  know  in  every  circumstance  of  life, 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION.  165 

what  the  Lord  requireth  of  them,  and  how  to  keep  a  con- 
science void  of  offence  both  toward  God  and  toward  man. 

2.  But  innumerable  are  the  things  which  they  know 
not.  "Touching  the  Almighty  himself,  they  cannot 
search  him  out  to  perfection.  Lo,  these  are  but  a  part 
of  his  ways;  but  the  thunder  of  his  power,  who  can  un- 
derstand?" They  cannot  understand,  I  will  not  say,  how 
"there  are  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  these  three  are  one;"  or 
how  the  eternal  Son  of  God  "took  upon  himself  the  form 
of  a  servant:  but  not  any  one  attribute,  not  any  one  cir- 
cumstance of  the  divine  nature.  Neither  is  it  for  them 
to  know  the  times  and  seasons,  when  God  will  work  his 
great  works  upon  the  earth;  no,  not  even  those  which  he 
hath  in  part  revealed,  by  his  servants  and  prophets,  since 
the  world  began.  Much  less  do  they  know,  when  God, 
having  "accomplished  the  number  of  his  elect,  will  hasten 
his  kingdom:''  when  "the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a 
great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat." 

3.  Th«y  know  not  the  reasons  even  of  many  of  his 
present  dispensations  with  the  sons  of  men:  but  are  con- 
strained to  rest  here,  though  "clouds  ami  darkness  are 
round  about  him,  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the 
habitation  of  his  seat."  Yea,  often  with  regard  to  his 
dealings  with  themselves,  doth  their  Lord  say  unto  them, 
"what  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now;  but  thou  shalt  know 
hereatter.''  And  how  little  do  they  know,  of  what  is 
ever  before  them,  of  even  the  visible  works  of  his  hands? 
How,  "he  spreadeth  the  north  over  the  eiiipty  place,  and 
hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing?"  How  he  unites  all  the 
parts  of  this  vast  machine  by  a  secret  chain,  which  can- 

15* 


166 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


not  be  broken?  So  great  is  the  ignorance,  so  very  little 
the  knowledge  of  even  the  best  of  men! 

4.  No  one,  then,  is  so  perfect  in  this  life,  as  to  be  free 
from  ignorance.  Nor,  secondly,  from  mistake,  which 
indeed  is  almost  an  unavoidable  consequence  of  it;  seeing 
those  who  know  but  in  part,  are  ever  liable  to  err,  touch- 
ing the  things  which  they  know  not.  It  is  true,  the 
children  of  God  do  not  mistake,  as  to  the  things  essential 
to  salvation.  They  do  not  "put  darkness  for  light,  or 
light  for  darkness,  neither  seek  death  in  the  error  of  their 
life.''  For  they  are  taught  of  God,  and  the  way  which 
he  teaches  them,  the  woy  of  holiness,  is  so  plain,  that 
"the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err  therein." 
But  in  things  unessential  to  salvation,  they  do  err,  and 
that  frequently.  The  best  and  wisest  of  men  are  frequent- 
ly misiakea,  even  with  regard  to  facts;  believing  those 
thing.s  not  to  have  been,  which  really  were,  or  those  to 
have  been  done,  which  were  not.  Or,  suppose  they  are 
not  mistaken  as  to  the  fact  itself,  they  may  be,  with  re- 
gard to  its  circumstances;  believing  them,  or  many  of 
them,  to  have  been  quite  different,  from  what,  in  truth, 
they  were.  And  hence  cannot  but  arise  many  farther 
mistakes.  Hence  they  may  believe  either  past  or  present 
actions,  which  were,  or  are  evil,  to  be  good;  and  such 
as  were,  or  are  good,  to  be  evil.  Hence  also  they  may 
judge,  not  according  to  truth,  with  regard  to  the  charac- 
ters of  men:  and  that,  not  only  by  supposing  good  men 
to  be  better,  or  wicked  men  to  be  worse  than  they  are; 
but  by  believing  them  to  have  been,  or  to  be  good  men, 
who  were,  or  are  very  wicked:  or  perhaps,  those  to  have 
been,  or  to  be  wicked  men,  who  were,  or  are  holy  and 
unrcprovablo. 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION.  167 

5.  Nay,  with  regard  to  the  holy  scriptures  themselves, 
as  careful  as  they  are  to  avoid  it,  the  best  of  men  are 
liable  to  mistake,  and  do  mistake  day  by  day:  especially 
with  respect  to  those  parts  thereof,  which  less  immediate- 
ly relate  to  practice.  Hence  even  the  children  of  God 
are  not  agreed  as  to  the  interpretation  of  many  places  in 
holy  writ:  nor  is  their  difference  of  opinion  any  proof 
that  they  are  not  the  children  of  God  on  eitherside.  But 
it  is  a  proof,  that  we  are  no  more  to  expect  any  living 
man  to  be  infallible  than  to  be  omniscient. 

6.  If  it  ba  objected  to  what  has  been  observed  under 
this  and  the  preceding  head,  that  St.  John,  speaking  to 
his  brethren  in  the  faith,  says,  "Ye  have  an  unction  from 
the  holy  one,  and  know  all  things,"  1  John  ii,  20.  The 
answer  is  plain,  "Ye  know  all  things  that  are  needful  for 
your  soul's  liealth."  That  the  apostle  never  designed  to 
extend  this  farther,  that  he  could  not  speak  it  in  an  abso- 
lute sense,  is  clear,  first,  from  hence,  that  otherwise  he 
.vould  describe  the  disciple  as  above  his  blaster;  seeing 
Christ  himself,  as  man,  knew  not  all  tilings: — "Of  that 
hour,"  saith  he,  "knoweth  no  man,  no,  not  the  Son,  but 
the  Father  only."  It  is  clear,  secondly,  from  the  Apostle's 
own  words  that  follow,  "These  things  have  f  written  unto 
you  concerning  them  that  deceive  you:"  as  well  as  from 
his  frequently  repeated  cautions,  "let  no  man  deceive 
you:"  which  had  been  altogether  needless,  had  not  those 
very  persons,  who  had  that  unction  from  the  Holy  One 
been  liable  not  to  ignorance  only,  but  to  mistake  also. 

7.  Even  Christians,  therefore,  are  not  so  perfect,  as  to'' 
be  free  either  from  ignorance  or  error.    We  may,  third-*' 
ly,  add,  nor  from  infirmities.    Only  let  us  take  care  to 
understand  this  word  aright.    Only  let  us  not  give  that 


168 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


soft  title  to  known  sins,  as  the  manner  of  some  is.  So, 
one  man  tells  us,  "every  man  has  his  infirmity,  and  mine 
is  drunkenness:"  another  has  the  infirmity  of  unclean- 
ness;  another  of  taking  God's  holy  name  in  vain.  And 
yet  another  h^s  the  infirmity  of  calling  his  brother,  thou 
fool,  or  returning  railing  for  railing.  It  is  plain,  that 
all  you  who  thus  speak,  if  ye  repent  not,  shall,  with  your 
infirmities,  go  quick  into  hell.  But  I  mean  hereby,  not 
only  those  which  are  properly  termed  bodily  infirmities, 
but  all  those  inward  or  outward  imperfections,  which  are 
not  of  a  moral  nature.  Such  are  weakness  or  slowness 
of  understanding,  dulness  or  confusedness  of  apprehen- 
sion, incoherency  of  thought,  irregular  quickness  or 
heaviness  of  imagination.  Such  (to  mention  no  more  of 
this  kind)  is  the  want  of  a  ready  or  retentive  memory. 
Such  in  another  kind  are,  those  which  are  commonly,  in 
some  measure,  consequent  upon  these:  namely,  slowness 
of  speech,  impropriety  of  language,  ungracefuJness  of 
pronunciation;  to  which  one  might  add  a  thousand  name- 
less defacts,  either  in  conversation  or  behavior.  These 
are  the  infirmities  which  are  found  in  the  best  of  men,  in 
a  larger  or  smaller  portion.  And  from  these  none  can 
hope  to  be  perfectly  freed,  till  the  spirit  return  to  God 
that  gave  it. 

8.  N»r  can  we  expect  till  then,  lo  be  wholly  free  from 
temptation.  Such  perfection  beiongcth  not  to  this  life 
It  is  true,  there  are  those  who  being  given  up  to  work  all 
uncleanness  with  greediness,  scarce  perceive  the  tempta- 
tions which  they  resist  not,  and  so  seem  to  be  without 
temptation.  There  are  also  many  whom  the  wise  enemy 
of  souls  seeing  to  be  fast  a8le(;p  in  the  dead  form  of  god- 
liness, will  not  tempt  to  gross  sin,  lest  they  should  awake, 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


169 


before  they  drop  into  everlasting  burnings.  I  know, 
there  are  also  children  of  God,  who  being  now  justified 
freely,  having  found  redemption  in  the  blood  of  Christ, 
for  the  present  feel  no  temptation,  God  hath  said  to 
their  enemies,  "touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do  my  chil- 
dren no  harm."  And  for  this  season,  it  may  be  for  weeks 
or  months,  he  causes  them  to  ride  on  high  places,  he 
beareth  them  as  on  eagle's  wings,  above  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  wicked  one.  But  this  stale  will  not  last  al- 
ways; as  we  may  learn  from  that  single  consideration, 
that  the  Son  of  God  himself,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  was 
tempted  even  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Tlierefore,  so  let  his 
servant  expect  to  be;  for  "it  is  enough  that  he  be  as  his 
Master." 

9.  Christian  perfection,  therefore,  does  not  imply  (as 
some  men  seem  to  have  imagined)  an  exemption  either 
from  ignorance,  or  mistake,  or  infirmities,  or  temptations." 
Indeed,  it  is  only  another  term  for  holiness.    They  are 
two  names  for  the  same  thing.    Thus,  every  one  that  is 
holy,  is,  in  the  scripture  sense,  perfect.     Yet  we  may, 
lastly,  observe,  that  neither  in  this  respect  is  there  any 
absolute  perfection  on  earth.    There  is  no  perfection  of  \ 
degrees,  as  it  is  termed;  none  which  does  not  admit  of  a  j 
continual  increase.    So  that  how  much  soever  any  man  \ 
has  attained,  or  in  how  high  a  degree  soever  he  is  perfect,  ' ' 
be  hath  still  need  to  grow  in  grace,  and  daily  to  advance 
in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 

II.  1.  In  what  sense,  then,  are  Christians  perfect? 
This  is  what  1  shall  endeavor,  in  the  second  place  to  show. 
But  it  should  be  premised,  that  there  are  several  stages 
in  the  Christian  life  as  in  the  natural:  some  of  the  chil- 
dren  of  God  being  but  new-born  babes;  others  having  at- 


170 


CHEISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


tained  to  more  maturity.  And  accordingly  St.  John,  in 
his  first  Epistle,  (chap,  ii,  12,  &c.)  applies  himself  seve- 
rally, to  those  he  terms  little  children,  those  he  styles 
young  men,  and  those  whom  he  entitles  fathers.  "I 
write  unto  you,  little  children,''  saith  the  apostle, 
"because  your  sins  are  forgiven  you:"  because 
thus  far  you  have  attained,  being  "■justified  freely,"  you 
"have  peace  with  God,  through  Jesus  Christ."  "I  write 
unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  have  overcome  the 
wicked  one;"  or  (as  he  afterwards  addeth)  "because  ye 
are  sirong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you."  Ye 
have  quenched  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one,  the 
doubts  and  fears,  wherewith  he  disturbed  your  first  peace; 
and  the  witness  of  God  that  your  sins  are  forgiven,  now 
abideth  in  your  heart.  "I  write  unto  you,  fathers,  be- 
cause ye  have  known  him  that  is  from  the  beginning." 
Ye  have  known  both  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  in  your  inmost  soul.  Ye  are  "perfect 
men,  being  grown  up  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ." 

2.  It  is  of  these  chiefly  I  speak  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  discourse.  For  these  only  are  perfect  Christians. 
But  even  babes  in  Christ  are  in  such  a  sense  perfect,  or 
born  of  God,  (an  expression  taken  also  in  divers  senses,) 
as  first,  not  to  commit  sin.  If  any  doubt  of  this  privi- 
lege of  the  sons  of  God,  the  question  is  not  to  be  decided 
by  abstract  reasonings,  which  may  be  drawn  out  into 
an  endless  length,  and  leave  the  point  just  as  it  was 
before.  Neither  is  it  to  be  determined  by  the  experience 
of  this  or  that  particular  person.  Many  may  suppose 
they  do  not  commit  sin,  when  they  do;  but  this  proves 
nothing  either  way.    To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  we 


CHRISTIAN  PEHFECTION. 


171 


appeal.  "Let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar.''  By 
his  word  will  we  abide  and  that  alone.  Hereby  we  ought 
to  be  judged. 

3.  Now  the  word  of  God  plainly  declares,  that  even 
those  who  are  only  justified,  who  are  born  again  in  the 
lowest  sense,  do  not  continue  in  sin;  that  they  cannot  live 
any  longer  therein,  Rom  vi,  1,  2,  that  they  are  "planted 
together  in  the  likeness  of  the  death  of  Christ,"  verse  5. 
That  their  "old  man  is  crucified  with  him,''  the  body  of 
sin  being  destroyed,  so  that  henceforth  they  do  not  serve 
sin;  that  being  dead  with  Christ,  they  are  freed  from  sin, 
ver.  6,  7.  That  they  are  "dead  unto  sin,  and  alive  unto 
God,"  ver.  11.  That  "sin  hath  no  more  dominion  over 
them,''  who  are  "not  under  the  law  but  under  grace;" 
but  that  these  "being  freed  from  sin,  are  become  the 
servants  of  righteousness;"  verses  14,  18. 

4.  The  very  least  which  can  be  implied  in  these  words, 
is  that  the  person  spoken  of  therein,  viz.  all  real  Chris- 
tians or  believers  in  Christ,  are  made  free  from  outward 
sin.  And  the  same  freedom  which  St.  Paul  here  express- 
es in  such  variety  of  phrases,  St.  Peter  expresses  in  that 
one.  1  Peter  iv,  1,  2,  "He  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh, 
hath  ceased  from  sin, — that  he  no  longer  should  live  to 
the  desires  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God."  For  this 
ceasing  from  sin,  if  it  be  interpreted  in  the  lowest  sense, 
as  regarding  only  the  outward  behavior,  must  denote  the 
ceasings  from  the  outward  act,  from  any  outward  trans- 
gression of  the  law. 

5.  But  most  express  are  the  well  known  words  of  St. 
John,  in  his  first  epistle,  chap,  iii,  8,  &c.  "He  that 
committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil:  for  the  devil  sinneth  from 
the  beginning.    For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was 


172  CHHISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil. 
Whosoever  is  born  of  God,  doth  not  commit  sin.  For  his 
seed  remaineth  in  him,  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is 
born  of  God."  And  those  in  the  fifth,  verse  18,  "We 
know  that  whosoever  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not.  But  he 
that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked 
one  toucheth  him  not.'' 

6.  Indeed,  it  is  said,  this  means  only,  he  sinneth  not 
wilfully;  or,  he  doth  not  commit  sin  habitually:  or,  not  as 
other  men  do;  or,  not  as  he  did  before.  But  by  whom  is 
this  said?  By  St.  John?  No.  There  is  no  such  word  in 
the  text;  nor  in  the  whole  chapter;  nor  in  all  this  epistle; 
nor  in  any  part  of  his  writings  whatsoever.  Why  then, 
the  best  answer  to  deny  a  bold  assertion  is,  simply  to 
deny  it.  And  if  any  man  can  prove  it  from  the  word  of 
God,  let  him  bring  forth  his  strong  reasons. 

7,  And  a  sort  of  reason  there  is,  which  has  been  fre- 
quently brought  to  support  these  strange  assertions,  drawn 
from  the  examples  recorded  in  the  word  of  God,  "what, 
say  they,  did  not  Abraham  himself  commit  sin,  prevari- 
cating and  denying  his  wife?  Did  not  Moses  commit  sin, 
when  he  provoked  God  at  the  waters  of  strife?  Nay,  to 
produce  one  for  all,  did  not  even  David,  'the  man  after 
God's  own  heart,'  commit  sin,  in  the  matter  of  Uriah 
the  Hittite,  even  murder  and  adultery?''  It  is  most  sure 
he  did.  All  this  is  true.  But  what  is  it  you  would  infer 
from  hence?  It  may  be  granted,  first,  that  David,  in  the 
general  course  of  his  life,  was  one  of  the  holiest  men 
among  the  Jews.  And,  secondly,  that  the  holiest  men 
among  the  Jews  "did  sometimes  commit  sin."  But  if 
you  would  hence  infer,  that  "all  Christians  do,  and  must 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


173 


commit  sin,  as  long  as  they  live:  this  consequence  we 
utterly  deny.    It  will  never  follow  from  those  premises. 

H.  Those  who  argue  thus,  seem  never  to  have  con- 
sidered that  declaration  of  our  Lord,  (Matt,  xi,  11,) 
"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  among  them  that  are  born  of 
women,  there  hath  not  risen  a  greater  than  John  the 
Baptist.  Notwithstanding,  he  that  is  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  greater  than  he."  I  fear,  indeed,  there 
are  some  who  have  imagined  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
here,  to  mean  the  kingdom  of  glory:  as  if  the  Son  of 
God  had  just  discovered  to  us,  that  the  least  glorified 
saint  in  heaven  is  greater  than  any  man  upon  earth!  To 
mention  this  is  sufficient  to  refute  it.  There  can,  there- 
fore,  no  doubt  be  made  but  the  kingdom  of  heaven  here, 
(as  in  the  following  verse,  where  it  is  said  to  be  taken  by 
force)  or,  the  kingdom  of  God^  as  St.  Luke  expresses  it, 
is  that  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  wliereunto  all  true  be- 
lievers in  Christ,  all  real  Christians  belong.  In  these 
words,  then,  our  Lord  declares  two  things.  First,  that 
before  his  coming  in  the  tlesh,  among  all  the  children  of 
men,  there  had  not  been  one  greater  than  John  the  Bap- 
tist: whence  it  evidently  follows,  that  neither  Abraham, 
David,  nor  any  Jew,  was  greater  than  John.  Our  Lord, 
secondly,  declares,  that  he  who  is  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  God  (in  that  kingdom  which  he  came  to  set  up  on 
earth,  and  which  the  violent  now  began  to  take  by  force) 
is  greater  than  he.  Not  a  greater  prophet,  as  some 
have  interpreted  the  word,  for  this  is  palpably  false  in 
fact.  But  greater  in  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  know- 
ledge of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore,  we  cannot 
measure  the  privileges  of  real  Christians  by  those  for- 
16 


174 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


merly  givea  to  the  Jews.  Their  ministration  (or  dis- 
pensation) we  allow  was  glorious;  but  ours  exceeds  in 
glory.  So  that  whosoever  would  bring  down  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation  to  the  Jewish  standard,  whosoever 
gleans  up  the  examples  of  weakness,  recorded  in  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  and  thence  infers,  that  they  who  have 
put  on  Christ  are  endued  with  no  greater  strength,  doth 
greatly  err,  "neither  knowing  the  Scriptures  nor  the 
power  of  God." 

9.  "But  are  there  not  assertions  in  Scripture  which 
prove  the  same  thing,  if  it  cannot  be  inferred  from  those 
examples?  Does  not  the  Scripture  say  expressly,  'even 
a  just  man  sinneth  seven  times  a  day?' ''  1  answer,  no. 
The  Scripture  says  no  such  thing.  There  is  no  such 
text  in  the  Bible.  That  which  seems  to  be  intended  is 
the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  of  the 
Proverbs:  the  words  of  which  are  these,  "a  just  man 
falleth  seven  limes,  and  riseth  up  again."  But  this  is 
quite  another  thing.  For,  first,  tlic  words  a  day  are  not 
in  the  text.  So  that  if  a  just  man  falls  seven  tim.es  in 
his  life,  it  is  as  much  as  is  affirmed  here.  Secondly, 
here  is  no  mention  of  f filling  into  sin  at  all;  what  is 
here  mentioned  \s  falling  into  temporal  affliction.  This 
plainly  appears  from  the  verse  before,  the  words  of  which 
are  these:  "lay  not  wait,  O  wicked  man,  against  the 
dwelling  of  the  righteous;  spoil  not  his  resting  place.'' 
It  follows,  ''for  a  just  man  falleth  seven  times,  and  riseth 
up  again:  but  the  wicked  shall  fall  into  mischief."  As  if 
he  had  said,  "God  will  deliver  him  out  of  his  trouble. 
But  when  thou  fallest,  there  shall  be  none  to  deliver 
thee." 

10.  "But,  however,  in  other  places,"  continue  the  ob- 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


175 


jectors,  "Solomon  does  assert  plainly,  'there  is  no  man 
that  sinneth  not,'  (1  Kings  viii,  46;  2  Chron.  vi,  36,) 
yea,  'there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth  that  doeth  good, 
and  sinneth  not,' ''  (Eccles.  vii,  20.)  1  answer,  without 
doubt,  thus  it  was  in  the  days  of  Solomon.  Yea,  thus  it 
was  from  Adam  to  Moses,  from  jMoses  to  Solomon,  and 
from  Solomon  to  Christ.  There  was  then  no  man  that 
sinned  not.  Even  from  the  day  that  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  there  was  not  a  just  man  upon  earth  that  did  good 
and  siwied  not,  until  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested  to 
take  away  our  sins.  It  is  unquestionably  true,  that 
"the  heir,  as  long  as  he  is  a  child,  differelh  nothing  from 
a  servant.''  And  that  even  so  they  (all  the  holy  men  of 
old,  who  were  under  the  Jewish  dispensation)  were,  dur- 
ing that  infant  state  of  the  Church,  in  bondage  under  the 
elements  of  the  world.  "But  when  the  fulness  of  the 
time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  under  the 
law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  they 
might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons;"  that  they  might  re- 
ceive that  "grace  which  is  now  made  manifest  by  the 
appearing  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  abolish- 
ed death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light 
through  the  gospel,"  (2  Tim.  i,  10.)  Now,  therefore, 
they  "are  no  more  servants,  but  sons."  So  that  whatso- 
ever was  the  case  of  those  under  the  law,  we  may  safe- 
ly affirm  with  St.  John,  that  since  the  gospel  was  given, 
"he  that  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not." 

11.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  observe,  and  that 
more  carefully  than  is  commonly  done,  the  wide  differ- 
ence that  is  between  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation: and  that  ground  of  it  which  the  same  apostle 
assigns  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  his  gospel,  ver.  38,  «Scc. 


176 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


After  he  had  there  related  those  words  of  our  blessed 
Lord,  "he  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  had 
said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water," 
he  immediately  subjoins,  "this  spake  he  of  the  Spirit, 
ov  t/xeXKov  Xa/ji.l3xniv  oi  'jii^tvovTer  £<r  avroy,  which  they 
who  should  believe  on  him  were  afterwards  to  receive. 
For  the  [Inly  Ghost  was  not  yet  given,  because  that 
.Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified.''  Now  the  apostle  cannot 
meiin  here,  (as  some  have  taught,)  that  the  miracle- 
working  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given. 
For  tiiis  was  given;  our  Lord  had  given  it  to  all  his 
apostles,  when  he  first  sent  them  forth  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. He  then  gave  them  power  over  unclean  spirits  to 
cast  them  out;  power  to  heal  the  sick,  yea,  to  raise  the 
dead.  But  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given  in  his 
sanctifying  graces,  as  he  was  after  Jesus  was  glorified. 
It  was  then  when  "he  ascended  up  on  high,  and  led  cap- 
tivity captive,''  that  he  "received  those  gifts  for  men, 
yea,  even  for  the  rebellious,  that  the  Lord  God  might 
dwell  among  them.''  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost 
was  fully  come,  then  first  it  was,  that  they  who  "waited 
for  the  promise  of  the  Father,"  were  made  more  than 
conquerors  over  sin  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  them. 

12.  That  this  great  salvation  from  sin  was  not  given 
till  Jesus  was  glorified,  St.  Peter  also  plainly  testifies; 
where,  speaking  of  his  brethren  in  the  flesh,  as  now  "re- 
ceivuio  the  end  of  their  faith,  the  salvation  of  their 
souls,"  he  adds,  (1  Pet.  i,  9,  10,  &c.)  "Of  which  salva- 
tion the  prophets  have  inquired  and  searched  diligently, 
who  prophesied  of  the  grace  (i.  e.  the  gracious  dispensa- 
tion) that  should  come  unto  you:  searching  what,  or 
what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in 


CHRISTIAN  PERFKCTION. 


177 


them  did  signify,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  and  the  glory  (the  glorious  salvation)  that 
should  follow.  Unto  whom  it  was  revealed,  that  not 
unto  themselves,  but  unto  us  they  did  minister,  the  things 
which  are  now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have 
preached  the  gospel  unto  you,  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sen' 
down  from  heaven,"  (viz.  at  the  day  of  Pentecost, and  so 
unto  all  generations,  into  the  hearts  of  all  true  believers.) 
On  this  ground,  even  "the  grace  which  was  brought 
unto  them  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,"  the  apostle 
might  well  build  that  strong  exhortation,  ''wherefore 
girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind — as  he  which  hath 
culled  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of  conver- 
sation." 

Hi.  Those  who  have  duly  considered  these  things 
must  allow,  that  the  privileges  of  Christians  are  in  no- 
wise to  be  measured  by  what  the  Old  Testament  records 
concerning  those  who  were  under  the  Jewish  dispensa- 
tion: seeing  the  fulness  of  time  is  now  come;  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  now  given:  the  great  salvation  of  God  is  brought 
unto  men  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  now  set  up  on  earth:  concerning 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  declared  of  old,  (so  far  is  David 
from  being  the  pattern  or  standard  of  Christian  perfec- 
tion,) "He  that  is  feeble  among  them  at  that  day,  shall 
be  as  David:  and  the  house  of  David  shall  be  as  God,  as 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  before  them,''  Zech.  xii,  8. 

14.  If,  therefore,  you  would  prove  that  the  apostle's 
words,  "he  that  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not,''  are  not  to 
be  understood  according  to  their  plain,  natural,  obvious 
meaning,  it  is  from  the  New  Testament  you  are  to  bring 
your  proofs:  else  you  will  fight  as  one  that  beateth  the 
16* 


178 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


air.  And  the  first  of  these  which  is  usually  brought,  is 
taken  from  the  examples  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. "The  apostles  themselves  (it  is  said)  committed 
sin:  nay  the  greatest  of  them,  Peter  and  Paul:  St.  Paul 
by  his  sharp  contention  with  Barnabas;  and  St.  Peter  by 
his  dissimulation  at  Antioch."  Well,  suppose  both  Peter 
and  Paul  did  then  commit  sin:  what  is  it  you  would  infer 
from  hence?  That  all  the  other  apostles  committed  sin 
sometimes?  There  is  no  shadow  of  proof  of  this.  Or, 
would  you  thence  infer,  that  all  the  other  Christians  of 
the  apostolic  age  committed  sin?  Worse  and  worse; 
this  is  such  an  inference  as  one  would  imagine  a  man  in 
his  senses  could  never  have  thought  of.  Or,  will  you 
argue  thus:  "If  two  of  the  apostles  did  once  commit 
sin,  then  all  other  Christians,  in  all  ages,  do,  and  will 
commit  sin  as  long  as  they  live?"  Alas,  my  brother!  a 
child  of  common  understanding  would  be  ashamed  of 
such  reasoning  as  this.  Least  of  all  can  you  with  any 
color  of  argument  infer,  "that  any  man  must  commit  sin 
at  all!"  No;  God  forbid  we  should  thus  speak.  No 
-  necessity  of  sinning  was  laid  upon  them.  The  grace  of 
God  was  surely  sufficient  for  them.  And  it  is  sufficient 
for  us  at  this  day.  With  the  temptation  which  fell  on 
them,  there  was  a  way  to  escape;  as  there  is  to  every 
soul  of  man  in  every  temptation.  So  that  whosoever 
is  tempted  to  any  sin,  need  not  yield;  for  no  man  is 
tempted  above  that  he  is  able  to  bear, 

15.  "But  St.  Paul  besought  the  Lord  thrice,  and  yet 
he  could  not  escape  from  his  temptation."  Let  us  con- 
sider his  own  words  literally  translated.  "There  was 
given  to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  an  angel,  or  messenger 
of  Satan  to  buffet  me.    Touching  this  I  besought  the 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


179 


Lord  thrice,  that  it  (or  he)  might  depart  from  me.  And 
he  said  unto  me,  my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee.  For 
my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly, 
therefore,  will  I  rather  glory  in  these  my  weaknesses, 
that  the  strength  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me.  There- 
fore 1  take  pleasure  in  weaknesses; — for  when  I  am 
weak,  then  am  I  strong." 

16.  As  this  Scripture  is  one  of  the  strong-holds  of 
the  patrons  of  sin,  it  may  be  proper  to  weigh  it  tho- 
roughly. Let  it  be  observed,  then,  first,  it  does  by  no 
means  appear,  that  this  thorn,  whatsoever  it  was,  occa- 
sioned St.  Paul  to  commit  sin:  much  less  laid  him  under 
any  necessity  of  doing  so.  Therefore,  from  hence  it 
can  never  be  proved  that  any  Christian  must  commit 
sin.  Secondly,  the  ancient  fathers  inform  us,  it  was 
bodily  pain:  a  violent  headache,  saith  Tertullian,  (de 
pudic.)  to  which  both  Chrysostom  and  St.  Jerom  agree. 
St.  Cyprian*  expresses  it  a  little  more  generally  in  those 
terms,  "many  and  grievous  torments  of  the  flesh  and  of 
the  body."t  Thirdly,  to  this  exactly  agree  the  apostle's 
own  words,  "a  thorn  to  the  flesh,  to  smite,  beat,  or  buflljt 
me.  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  Which 
same  word  occurs  no  less  than  four  times  in  these  two 
verses  only.  But  fourthly,  whatsoever  it  was,  it  could 
not  be  either  inward  or  outward  sin.  It  could  no  more 
be  inward  stirrings,  than  outward  expressions,  of  pride, 
anger,  or  lust.  This  is  manifest  beyond  all  possible  ex- 
ception, from  the  words  that  immediately  follow:  "most 
gladly  will  I  glory  in  these  niy  weaknesses,  that  the 
strength  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me.''    What?  Did  he 

*De  mortalitate. 

tCarois  et  Corporis  multa  ac  gravia  tormenta. 


180 


CIIKISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


glory  in  pride,  in  anger,  in  lust?  Was  it  through  these 
weaknesses  that  the  strength  of  Christ  rested  upon  him? 
He  goes  on:  "therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  weaknesses: 
for  when  1  am  weak  then  am  I  strong;''  i.  e.  when  I  am 
weak  in  body  then  am  I  strong  in  spirit.  But  will  any 
man  dare  to  say,  when  1  am  weak  by  pride  or  lust,  then 
am  I  strong  in  spirit?  I  call  you  all  to  record  this  day, 
who  find  the  strength  of  Christ  resting  upon  you,  can 
you  glory  in  anger,  or  pride,  or  lust?  Can  you  take 
pleasure  in  these  infirmities?  Do  these  weaknesses  make 
you  strong?  Would  you  not  leap  into  hell,  were  it  pos- 
sible, to  escape  them?  Even  by  yourselves,  then,  judge 
whether  the  apostle  could  glory,  and  take  pleasure  in 
them?  Let  it  bo,  lastly,  observed,  that  this  thorn  was 
given  to  St.  Paul  above  fourteen  years  before  he  wrote 
this  Epistle:  which  itself  was  wrote  several  years  before 
he  finished  his  course.  So  that  he  had  after  this  a  long 
course  to  run,  many  battles  to  fight,  many  victories  to 
gain,  and  great  increase  to  receive  in  all  the  gifts  of 
God,  and  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore, 
from  any  spiritual  weakness  (if  such  had  been)  which  he 
at  that  time  felt,  we  could  by  no  means  infer,  that  he  was 
never  made  strong,  that  Paul  the  aged,  the  father  in 
Christ,  still  labored  under  the  same  weaknesses:  that  he 
was  m  no  higher  state  till  the  day  of  his  death.  From 
all  which  it  appears,  that  this  instance  of  St.  Paul  is 
quite  foreign  to  the  question,  and  does  in  nowise  clash 
with  the  assertion  of  St.  John,  "he  that  is  born  of  God, 
sinneth  not.'' 

17,  "But  does  not  St.  James  directly  contradict  this? 
His  words  are,  'In  many  things  we  offend  all,'  ch.  iii, 
ver.  2.    And  is  not  offending  the  same  as  committing 


CHRISTIAN  TERFECTION.  181 

sin?"  In  this  place,  I  allow  it  is.  I  allow  the  persons 
here  spoken  of  did  commit  sin,  yea,  that  they  all  com- 
mitted many  sins.  But  who  are  the  persons  here  spoken 
of?  Why,  those  many  masters  or  teachers,  whom  God 
had  not  sent;  (probably  the  same  vain  men  who  taught 
that  faith  without  works,  which  is  so  sharply  reproved  in 
the  preceding  chapter.)  Not  the  apostle  himself  nor 
any  real  Christian.  That  in  the  word  we  (used  by  a 
figure  of  speech,  common  in  all  other,  as  well  as  the  in- 
spired writings)  the  apostle  couki  not  possibly  include 
himself,  or  any  other  true  believer,  appears  evidently, 
first,  from  the  same  word,  in  the  ninth  verse;  "There- 
with (saith  he)  bless  we  God,  and  therewith  curse  we 
men.  Out  of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing  and 
cursing.''  True;  but  not  out  of  the  apostle,  nor  of 
any  one  who  is  in  Christ  a  new  creature.  Secondly, 
from  the  verse  immediately  preceding  the  text,  and 
manifestly  connected  with  it:  "my  brethren,  be  not  many 
masters  (or  teachers)  knowing  that  we  shall  receive  the 
greater  condemnation.  For  in  many  things  we  offend 
all:"  we!  who?  Not  the  apostles,  nor  true  believers; 
but  they  who  knew  they  should  receive  the  greater  con- 
demnation, because  of  those  many  offences.  But  this 
could  not  be  spoken  of  the  apostle  himself,  or  of  any 
who  trod  in  his  steps:  seeing  ''there  is  no  condemnation 
for  them  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
spirit."  Nay,  thirdly,  the  very  verse  itself  proves,  that 
we  offend  all,  cannot  be  spoken,  either  of  all  men,  or  of 
all  Christians;  for  in  it  there  immediately  follows  the 
mention  of  a  man  who  offends  not,  as  the  we  first  men- 
tioned did:  from  whom  therefore  he  is  professedly  con- 
tradistinguished, and  pronounced  a  perfect  man. 


182 


CHRISTIAN  TEIIFECTION. 


18.  So  clearly  does  St.  James  explain  himself,  and 
fix  the  meaning  of  his  own  words.  Yet,  lest  any  one 
should  still  remain  in  doubt,  St.  John,  writing  many  years 
after  St.  James,  puts  the  matter  entirely  out  of  dispute, 
by  the  express  declarations  above  recited.  But  here  a 
fresh  difficulty  may  arise.  How  shall  we  reconcile  St. 
John  with  himself.  In  one  place  he  declares,  "Who- 
soever is  born  of  God,  doth  not  commit  sin."  And  again, 
"We  know  that  he  which  is  born  of  God,  sinneth  not." 
And  yet  in  another,  ho  salth,  "If  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 
And  again,  "if  wo  say  that  we  have  not  sinned,  we 
make  him  a  liar,  and  liis  word  is  not  in  us." 

19.  As  great  a  difliculty  as  this  may,  at  first,  appear, 
it  vanishes  away,  if  we  observe.  First,  That  the  tenth 
verse  fixes  the  sense  of  the  eighth:  "If  we  say  we  have 
no  sin,"  in  the  former,  being  explained  by,  "If  we  say 
we  have  not  sinned,"  in  the  latter  verse.  Secondly, 
That  the  point  under  present  consideration  is  not, 
whether  we  have  or  have  not  sinned  heretofore;  and 
neither  of  these  verses  asserts,  that  we  do  sin,  or  commit 
sin  now.  Thirdly,  That  the  ninth  verse  explains  both 
the  eighth  and  tenth:  "If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is 
faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness:"  as  if  he  had  said,  "1  have 
before  affirmed,  the  'blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin,'  But  let  no  man  say,  'I  need  it  not:  I  have 
no  sin  to  be  cleansed  from.'  If  we  say,  'that  we  have 
no  sin,  that  we  have  not  sinned,'  we  deceive  ourselves 
and  make  God  a  liar.  But  if  we  confess  our  sins,  he 
is  faithful  and  just,  not  only  to  forgive  our  sins,  but  also 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


183 


to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness,"  that  we  "go 
and  sin  no  more." 

20.  St.  John,  ther-efore,  is  well  consistent  with  him- 
self, as  well  as  with  the  other  holy  writers;  as  will  yet 
more  evidently  appear,  if  we  place  all  his  assertions 
touching  this  matter  in  otie  view.  He  declares,  first, 
The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 
Secondly,  No  man  can  say,  I  have  not  sinned,  I  have  no 
sin  to  be  cleansed  from.  Thirdly,  But  God  is  ready 
both  to  forgive  our  past  sins,  and  to  save  us  from  them 
for  the  time  to  come.  Fourthly,  "These  things  I  write 
unto  you,"  saith  the  apostle,  "that  you  may  not  sin,'' 
or  have  sinned,  (as  the  word  might  be  rendered,)  he 
need  not  continue  in  sin,  seeing  "we  have  an  Advocate 
with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous.''  Thus  far, 
all  is  clear.  But  lest  any  doubt  should  remain,  in  a 
point  of  so  vast  importance,  the  apostle  resumes  this 
subject  in  the  third  chapter,  and  largely  explains  his 
own  meaning:  "Little  children,"  saith  he,  "let  no  man 
deceive  you;"  [as  though  I  had  given  any  encourage- 
ment to  those  that  continue  in  sin.]  "He  that  doth 
righteousness,  is  righteous;  even  as  he  is  righteous. 
He  that  comniitteth  sin  is  of  the  devil;  for  the  devil 
sinneth  from. the  beginning.  For  this  purpose  the  Son 
of  God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works 
of  the  devil.  Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  com- 
mit sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him;  and  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God.  In  this  the  children  of 
God  are  manifest,  and  the  children  of  the  devil," 
(verse  7 — 10.)  Here  the  point,  which  till  then  might 
possibly  have  admitted  of  some  doubt  in  weak  minds,  is 
purposely  settled  by  the  last  of  the  inspired  writers,  and 


184  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

decided  in  the  clearest  manner.    In  conformity,  there- 
fore, both  to  the  doctrine  of  St.  John,  and  to  the  whole 
tenor  of  the  New  Testament,  we  fix  this  conclusion,  A 
''Christian  is  so  far  perfect  as  not  to  commit  sin. 

21.  This  is  the  glorious  privilege  of  every  Christian, 
yea,  though  he  be  but  a  babe  in  Christ.  But  it  is  only 
of  those  who  are  strong  in  the  Lord,  "and  have  over- 
come the  wicked  one,"  or  rather  of  those  who  "have 
known  him  that  is  from  the  beginning,"  that  it  can  be 
affirmed  they  are  in  such  a  sense  perfect:  as,  secondly, 
to  be  freed  from  evil  thoughts,  and  evil  tempers.  First, 
from  evil  or  sinful  thoughts.  But  here  let  it  be  observed, 
that  thoughts  concerning  evil,  are  not  always  evil 
thoughts;  that  a  thought  concerning  sin,  and  a  sinful 
thought,  are  widely  diflerent.  A  man,  for  instance,  may 
think  of  a  murder  whicli  another  has  committed,  and 
yet  this  is  no  evil  or  sinful  tliought.  So  our  blessed 
Lord  himself,  doubtless  thought  of,  or  understood  the 
thing  spoken  by  the  devil,  when  he  said,  "All  this  will 
I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me." 
Yet  had  he  no  evil  or  sinful  thought,  nor  indeed  was 
capable  nf  having  any.  And  even  hence  it  follows,  that 
neither  have  any  real  Christians.  For  "every  one  that  is 
perfect  is  as  his  Master,"  Luke  vi,  40.  Therefore,  if 
he  were  free  from  evil  or  sinful  thoughts,  so  are  they 
likewise. 

22.  And  indeed,  whence  should  evil  thoughts  proceed, 
in  the  servant  who  is  as  his  Master?  "Out  of  the  heart 
of  man  \if  at  all]  proceed  evil  thoughts,"  Mark  vii,  21. 
If,  therefore,  his  heart  be  no  longer  evil,  then  evil 
thoughts  can  no  longer  proceed  out  of  it.  If  the  tree 
were  corrupt,  so  would  be  the  fruit;  but  the  tree  is  good. 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION.  185 

The  fruit,  therefore,  is  good  also,  Malt,  xii,  33.  Our 
Lord  himself  bearing  wituess,  "Every  good  tree  bring- 
eth  forth  good  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth 
evil  fruit,  as  a  corrupt  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good 
fruit,"  Matt,  vii,  17,  18. 

23.  The  same  happy  privilege  of  real  Christians,  St. 
Paul  asserts  from  his  own  experience.  "The  weapons 
of  our  warfare,"  saith  he,  "are  not  carnal,  but  mighty, 
through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds; 
casting  down  imaginations,"  [or  reasonings  rather,  for 
so  the  word  Xoyirfj-ar  signifies;  all  the  reasonings  of 
pride  and  unbelief  against  the  declarations,  promises,  or 
gifts  of  God;]  and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God;  and  bringing  into  cap- 
tivity every  thougiit  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,"  2  Cor. 
X,  4.  dic, 

24.  And  as  Christians  indeed,  are  freed  from  evil 
thoughts,  so  are  they,  secondly,  from  evil  tempers. 
This  is  evident  from  the  above-mentioned  declaration  of 
our  Lord  himself:  "The  disciple  is  not  above  his  Master: 
but  every  one  that  is  perfect  shall  be  as  his  Master.'' 
He  hiid  been  delivering,  just  before,  some  of  the  sub- 
limest  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  some  of  the  most 
grievous  to  flesh  and  blood.  "I  say  unto  you,  love  your 
enemies,  do  good  to  them  which  hate  you:  and  unto  him 
that  smiteth  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  offer  also  the 
other."  Now  these  he  well  knew  the  world  would  not 
receive;  and  therefore,  immediately  adds,  "Can  the 
blind  lead  the  blind.'  Will  they  not  both  fall  into 
the  ditch?"  .\s  if  he  had  said,  "Do  not  confer  with 
flesh  and  blood  touching  these  things,  with  men  void  of 
spiritual  discernment,  the  eyes  of  whose  understanding 

17 


ItjS  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

God  hath  not  opened,  lest  they  and  you  perish  together." 
In  the  next  verse  he  removes  the  two  grand  objections, 
with  which  these  wise  fools  meet  us  at  every  turn, 
''These  things  are  ton  grievous  to  be  borne,"  or,  "They 
are  too  high  to  be  attained:"  Saying,  "The  disciple  is 
not  above  his  Master;"  therefore,  if  I  have  suffered,  be 
content  to  tread  in  my  steps.  And  doubt  ye  not  then, 
but  I  will  fulfil  my  word:  "For  every  one  that  is  perfect 
shall  be  as  his  Master."  But  his  Master  was  free  from 
all  sinful  tempers.  So,  therefore,  is  his  disciple,  even 
every  real  Christian. 

25.  Every  one  of  these  can  say  with  St.  Paul,  "I  am 
crucified  with  Ciirist.  Nevertheless,  I  live,  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me:"  words  that  manifestly  describe 
a  deliverance  f"rom  inward  as  well  as  outward  sin.  This 
is  expressed  both  negatively,  I  live  not;  (my  evil  nature, 

*  the  body  of  sin  is  destroyed:)  and  positively,  Christ 
liveth  in  vie,  and,  therefore,  all  that  is  holy,  and  just,  and 
good.  Indeed,  both  these,  Christ  liveth  in  me,  and  I  live 
not,  are  inseparably  connected.  For  "what  communica- 
tion hath  light  with  darkness,  or  Christ  with  Belial?" 

26.  He,  therefore,  who  liveth  in  true  believers,  hath 
"purified  their  hearts  by  faith:"  insomuch  that  "every 
one  that  hath  Christ  in  him,  the  hope  of  glory,  purifieth 
himself,  even  as  he  is  pure,''  (1  John  iii,  3.)  He  is  puri- 
fied from  pride;  for  Ciirist  was  lowly  of  heart.  He  is 
pure  from  self-will,  or  desire;  for  Christ  desired  only  to 
do  the  will  of  his  Father,  and  to  finish  his  work.  And 
he  is  pure  from  anger,  in  the  common  sense  of  the  word; 
for  Christ  was  meek  and  gentle,  patient  and  long-suffer- 
mg.  I  say,  in  the  common  sense  of  the  word;  for  all 
auger  is  not  evil.    We  read  of  our  Lord  himself,  (Mark 


CHRISTIAN  PEBFECTION. 


187 


iii,  5,)  that  he  once  "looked  round  with  anger."  But  with 
what  kind  of  anger?  The  next  word  shows,  av>.Xvmvfji.syos, 
being,  "at  the  same  time  grieved  for  the  hardness  of 
their  hearts."  So,  then  he  was  angry  at  the  sin,  and,  in 
the  same  moment,  grieved  for  the  sinners.  Angry  or 
displeased  at  the  nffence;  but  sorry  for  the  offenders. 
With  anger,  yea,  hatred,  he  looked  upon  the  thing,  w  ith 
grief  and  love  upon  the  persons.  Go,  thou  that  art  per- 
fect, and  do  likewise.  Be  fhvs  angry,  and  thou  sinnest 
not:  feeling  a  displaceiicy  at  every  offence  against  God; 
but  only  love  and  tender  compassion  to  the  offender. 

27.  Thus  doth  Jesus  ''save  his  people  from  their  sins:'' 
and  not  only  from  outward  sins,  but  also  from  the  sins  of 
their  hearts;  from  evil  thoughts,  and  from  evil  tempers. 
''True,"  say  some,  "we  shall  thus  be  saved  from  our  sins; 
but  not  till  death,  not  in  this  world."  But  how  are  we  to 
reconcile  this  with  the  express  words  of  St.  John?  "Here- 
in is  our  love  made  perfect,  that  we  may  have  boldness 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  because  as  he  is,  so  are  we  in 
this  world."  The  apostle  here,  beyond  all  contradiction, 
speaks  of  himselt  and  other  living  Christians,  of  whom 
(as  though  he  had  foreseen  this  veryevasion,  and  set  him- 
self to  overturn  fit  from  the  foundation,)  he  flatly  affirms, 
that  not  only  at,  or  after  death,  but  in  this  world,  they 
are  as  their  Master,  1  John  iv,  17. 

28.  Exactly  agreeable  to  this  are  his  words  in  the  first 
chapter  of  this  epistle,  (verse  6,  &;c.)  "God  is  light,  and 
in  him  there  is  no  darkness  at  all.  If  we  walk  in  the 
light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.''  And 
again,  "if  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  eur  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighte- 


188 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


ousness."  Now  it  is  evident,  the  apostle  here  also  speaks 
of  a  deliverance  wrought  in  this  world.  For  he  saith, 
not,  the  blood  of  Christ  will  cleanse,  (at  the  hour  of  death, 
or  in  the  day  of  judgment)  but  it  cleanseth  (at  the  time 
present)  us  [living  Christians]  from  all  sin.  And  it  is 
equally  evident,  that  if  any  sin  remain,  we  are  not 
cleansed  from  all  sin:  if  any  unrighteousness  remain  in 
the  soul,  it  is  not  cleansed  from  all  unrighteousness. 
Neither  let  any  sinner  against  his  own  soul  say  that  this 
relates  to  justification  only,  or  the  cleansing  us  from  the 
guilt  of  sin;  first,  because  this  is  confounding  together 
what  the  apostle  clearly  distinguishes;  who  mentions  first, 
o  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  then  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 
righteousness. Secondly,  because  this  is  asserting  justi- 
fication by  works  in  the  strongest  sense  possible:  it  is 
making  all  inward,  as  well  as  outward  holiness  necessarily 
previous  to  justification.  For,  if  the  cleansing  here 
spoken  of,  is  no  other  than  the  cleansing  us  from  the 
guilt  of  sin,  then  we  are  not  cleansed  from  guilt:  i.  e 
are  not  justified,  unless  on  condition  of  walking  in  the 
light,  as  he  is  in  the  light.  It  remains,  then,  that  Chris- 
tians are  saved  in  this  world  from  all  sin,  from  all  un- 
righteousness: that  they  are  now,  in  such  a  sense,  perfect, 
as  not  to  commit  sin,  and  to  be  freed  from  evil  thoughts 
and  evil  tempers. 

29.  Thus  hath  the  Lord  fulfilled  the  things  he  spake 
by  his  holy  prophets,  which  have  been  since  the  world 
began:  by  Moses  in  particular,  saying,  (Deut.  xxx,  6,) 
*'I  will  circumcise  thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy 
seed,  to  love  the  Lord  tiiy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul:"  by  David  crying  out,  "Create  in  me 
a  clean  heart,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me:''  and 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


189 


most  remarkably  by  Ezekiel,  in  those  words,  "Then 
will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean;  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols 
will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you, 
and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  and  cause  you 
to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments 
and  do  them. — Ye  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be 
your  God.  I  will  also  save  you  from  all  your  unclean- 
nesses.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  in  the  day  that  I 
shall  have  cleansed  you  from  all  your  iniquities — the 
heathen  shall  know,  that  I,  the  Lord,  build  the  ruined  * 
places, — 1,  the  Lord,  liave  spoken  it, — and  I  will  do  it," 
Ezek.  xxxvi,  25,  &c. 

30.  "Having,  therefore,  these  promises,  dearly  belov- 
ed," both  in  the  law  and  in  the  prophets,  and  having  the 
prophetic  word  confirmed  unto  us  in  the  gospel,  by  our 
blessed  Lord  and  his  apostles:  "let  us  cleanse  ourselves 
from  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness 
in  the  fear  of  God.''  "Let  us  fear  lest  so  many  promi- 
ses being  made  us  of  entering  into  his  rest  (which  he 
that  hath  entered  into,  has  ceased  from  his  own  works) 
any  of  us  should  come  short  of  it."  "This  one  thing 
let  us  do:  forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and 
reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  let 
us  press  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus;''  crying  unto  him  day 
and  night,  till  we  also  are  "delivered  from  the  bondage  r 
of  corruption,  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of 
God." 


17* 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION, 


OB  THE  PERFECTED  HOLINESS  OF  BELIEVERS. 


BY  RICHARD  WATSON. 


We  have  already  spoken  of  justification,  adoption, 
regeneration,  and  the  icitness  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we 
proceed  to  another  as  distinctly  marked,  and  as  gracious- 
ly promised  in  the  Holy  Scriptures:  this  is  the  entire 
SANCTIFICATION,  or  the  perfected  holiness  of  beUevers; 
and  as  this  doctrine,  in  some  of  its  respects,  has  been  the 
subject  of  controversy,  the  scriptural  evidence  of  it  must 
be  appealed  to  and  examined.  Happily  for  us,  a  subject 
of  so  great  importance  is  not  involved  in  obscurity. 

That  a  distinction  exists  between  a  regenerate  state 
and  a  state  of  entire  and  perfect  holiness  will  be  gene- 
rally allowed.  Regeneration,  we  have  seen,  is  concomi- 
tant with  justification-,  but  the  apostles,  in  addressing  the 
body  of  believers  in  llie  churches  to  whom  they  wrote 
their  epistles,  set  before  them,  both  in  the  prayers  they 
offer  in  their  behalf,  and  in  the  exhortations  they  adminis- 
ter, a  still  higher  degree  of  deliverance  from  sin,  as  well 
as  a  higher  growth  in  Christian  virtues.  Two  passages 
only  need  be  quoted  to  prove  this: — 1  Thess.  v,  23,  "And 
the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly,  and  1  pray 


192 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be  preserved 
blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
2  Cor.  vii,  1,  "Having  these  promises,  dearly  beloved, 
let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and 
spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God."  In  both 
these  passages  deliverance  from  sin  is  the  subject  spoken 
of;  and  the  prayer  in  one  instance,  and  the  exhortation 
in  the  other,  goes  to  the  extent  of  the  entire  sanctification 
of  "the  soul''  and  "•spirit,"  as  well  as  of  the  "flesh'' or 
"body,"  from  all  sin;  by  which  can  only  be  meant  our 
complete  deliverance  from  all  spiritual  pollution,  all  in- 
ward depravation  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  that  which, 
expressing  itself  outwardly  by  the  indulgence  of  the 
senses,  is  called  "filthiness  of  the  flesh." 

The  attainableness  of  such  a  state  is  not  so  much  a 
matter  of  debate  among  Christians  as  the  time  when  we  are 
authorized  to  expect  it.  For  as  it  is  an  axiom  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  that  "without  holiness  no  man  can  see  the 
Lord;"  and  is  equally  clear  that  if  we  would  "be  found 
of  him  in  peace"  we  must  be  found  "without  spot  and 
blameless;''''  and  that  the  Church  will  be  presented  by 
Christ  to  the  Father  without  "fault;''  so  it  must  be  con- 
cluded, unless  on  the  one  hand,  we  greatly  pervert  the 
sense  of  these  passages,  or,  on  the  other,  admit  the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory  or  some  intermediate  purifying  institu- 
tion, that  the  entire  sanctification  of  the  soul,  and  its 
complete  renewal  in  holiness,  must  take  place  in  this 
world. 

While  this  is  generally  acknowledged,  however,  among 
spiritual  Christians,  it  has  been  warmly  contended  by 
many,  that  the  final  stroke  which  destroys  our  natural 
corruption,  is  only  given  at  death;  and  that  the  soul,  when 


ENTIRE  SA NOTIFICATION.  193 

separated  from  the  body,  and  not  before,  is  capable  of 
that  immaculate  purity  which  these  passages,  doubtless, 
exhibit  to  our  hope. 

If  this  view  can  be  refuted,  then  it  must  follow,  unless 
a  purgatory  of  some  description  be  allowed  after  death, 
that  the  entire  sanctification  of  believers,  at  any  time 
previous  to  their  dissolution,  and  in  the  full  sense  of  these 
evangelic  promises,  is  attainable. 

To  the  opinion  in  question,  then,  there  appear  to  be 
the  following  fatal  objections: — 

1.  That  we  nowhere  find  the  promises  of  entire  sancti- 
fication restricted  to  the  article  of  death,  either  expressly, 
or  in  fair  inference  from  any  passage  of  Holy  Scripture. 

2.  That  we  nowhere  find  the  circumstance  of  the  soul's 
union  with  the  body  represented  as  a  necessary  obstacle 
to  its  entire  sanctification. 

The  prmcipal  passage  which  has  been  urged  in  proof 
of  this  from  the  New  Testament,  is  that  part  of  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  in  which 
St.  Paul,  speaking  in  the  first  person  of  the  bondage  of 
the  flesh,  has  been  supposed  to  describe  his  state,  as  a 
believer  in  Christ.  But  whether  he  speaks  of  himself,  or 
describes  the  state  of  others  in  a  supposed  case,  given  for 
the  sake  of  more  vivid  representation  in  the  first  person, 
which  is  much  more  probable,  he  is  clearly  speaking  of  a 
person  who  had  once  sought  justification  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  but  who  was  then  convinced,  by  the  force  of  a 
spiritual  apprehension  of  the  extent  of  the  requirements 
of  that  law,  and  by  constant  failures  in  his  attempts  to 
keep  it  perfectly,  that  he  was  in  bondage  to  his  corrupt 
nature,  and  could  only  be  delivered  from  this  thraldom  by 
the  interposition  of  another.    For,  not  to  urge  that  his 


194  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

Strong  expressions  of  being  "carnal,"  "sold  under  sin," 
and  doing  ahvays  "tiie  things  whicii  he  would  not,"  are 
utterly  inconsistent  with  that  moral  state  of  believers  in 
Christ  which  he  describes  in  the  next  chapter;  and,  es- 
pecially, that  he  there  declares  that  such  as  are  in  Christ 
Jesus  "walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit;''  the 
seventh  chapter  itself  contains  decisive  evidence  against 
the  inference  which  the  advocates  of  the  necessary  con- 
tinuance of  sin  till  death  have  drawn  from  it.  The 
apostle  declares  the  person  whose  case  he  describes,  to 
be  under  the  law,  and  not  in  a  state  of  deliverance  by 
Christ;  and  then  he  represents  him  not  only  as  despair- 
ing of  self-deliverance,  and  as  praying  for  the  interposi- 
tion of  a  sufficiently  powerful  deliverer,  but  as  thanking 
God  that  the  very  deliverance  for  which  he  groans  is 
appointed  to  be  administered  to  him  by  Jesus  Christ. 
"Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?  I 
thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'' 

This  is,  also,  so  fully  confirmed  by  what  the  apostle 
had  said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  where  he  unquestion- 
ably describes  the  moral  state  of  true  believers,  that  no- 
thing is  more  surprising  than  that  so  perverted  a  comment 
upon  the  seventh  chapter,  as  that  to  which  we  have  ad- 
verted, should  have  been  adopted  or  persevered  in.  "What 
shall  we  say  then?  Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace 
may  abound?  God  forbid!  How  shall  we  who  are  dead 
to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein?  Know  ye  not,  that  so 
many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ,  were 
baptized  into  his  death?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with 
him  by  baptism  into  death;  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised 
up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so 
we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.     For  if  we 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


195 


have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death, 
we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection;  know- 
iog  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that 
THE  BODY  OF  SIN  MIGHT  BE  DESTKovKD,  that  hence- 
forth we  should  not  serve  sin;  for  he  that  is  dead  is 
FREED  FROM  SIN."  So  clcarly  does  the  apostle  show 
that  he  who  is  bound  to  the  "body  of  death,"  as  men- 
tioned in  the  seventh  chapter,  is  not  in  the  state  of  a  be- 
liever; and  that  he  who  has  a  true  faith  in  Clirist,  "is 
FREED  from  sin." 

It  is  somewhat  singular, that  the  divines  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  school  should  be  almost  uniformly  the  zealous  ad- 
vocates of  the  doctrine  of  the  continuance  of  indwelling 
sin  till  death;  but  it  is  but  justice  to  say,  that  several  of 
them  have  as  zealously  denied  that  the  apostle,  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  Romans,  describes  the  state  of  one 
who  is  justified  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  very  properly  con- 
sider the  case  there  spoken  of  as  that  of  one  struggling 
in  LEGAL  bondage,  and  brought  to  that  point  of  self-despair 
and  of  conviction  of  sin  and  helplessness  which  must  al- 
ways precede  an  entire  trust  in  the  merits  of  Christ's 
death,  and  the  power  of  his  salvation. 

3.  The  doctrine  before  us  is  disproved  by  those  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  which  connect  our  entire  sanctification 
with  subsequent  habits  and  acts,  to  be  exhibited  in  the 
conduct  of  believers  before  death.  So  in  tiie  quotation 
from  Rom.  vi,  just  given, — "knowing  this,  that  the  body 
of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not 
serve  sin.''  So  the  exhortation  in  2  Cor.  vii,l,  also  given 
above,  refers  to  the  present  life,  and  not  to  the  future  hour 
of  our  dissolution;  and  in  1  Thess.  v,  2.3,  the  apostle  first 
prays  for  the  entire  sanctification  of  the  Thcssalonians, 


196 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


and  then  for  their  preservation  in  that  hallowed  state, 
"unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'' 

4.  It  is  disproved,  also,  by  all  those  passages  which 
require  us  to  bring  forth  those  graces  and  virtues  which 
are  usually  called  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  That  these 
are  to  be  produced  during  our  life,  and  to  be  displ^ed  in 
our  spirit  and  conduct,  cannot  be  doubted;  and  we  may 
then  ask  whether  they  are  required  of  us  in  perfection 
and  maturity?  If  so,  in  this  degree  of  maturity  and  per- 
fection, they  necessarily  suppose  the  entire  sanctification 
of  the  soul  from  the  opposite  and  antagonist  evils.  Meek- 
ness in  its  perfection  supposes  the  extinction  of  all  sinful 
anger;  perfect  love  to  God,  supposes  that  no  affection 
remains  contrary  to  it;  and  so  of  every  other  perfect  in- 
ternal virtue.  The  inquiry,  then,  is  reduced  to  this, 
whether  these  graces,  in  such  perfection  as  to  exclude 
the  opposite  corruptions  of  the  heart,  are  of  possible  at- 
tainment, if  they  are  not,  then  we  cannot  love  God 
with  our  whole  hearts;  then  we  must  be  sometimes  sin- 
fully angry;  and  how,  in  that  case,  are  we  to  interpret 
that  perfecfiiess  in  these  graces  which  God  hath  required 
of  us,  and  promised  to  us  in  the  gospel?  For  if  the  per- 
fection meant  (and  let  it  be  observed  that  this  is  a  Sc7-ip- 
tural  term,  and  must  mean  something)  be  so  compara- 
tive as  that  we  may  be  sometimes  sinfully  angry,  and  may 
sometimes  divide  our  hearts  between  God  and  the 
creature,  we  may  apply  the  same  comparative  sense  of 
the  term  to  good  words  and  to  good  works,  as  well  as  to 
good  affections.  Tims  when  the  apostle  prays  for  the 
Hebrews,  "Now  the  God  of  peace  that  brought  again 
from  the  dead  our  liord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of 
the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant, 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


197 


make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work,  to  do  his  will," 
we  must  understand  this  perfection  of  evangelical  good 
works  so  that  it  shall  sometimes  give  place  to  opposite 
evil  works,  just  as  good  atiections  must  necessarily  some- 
times give  place  to  the  opposite  bad  aflections.  This 
view  can  scarcely  be  soberly  entertained  by  any  enlight- 
ened Christian;  and  it  must,  tlierefore,  be  concluded,  that 
the  standard  of  our  attainable  Christian  perfection,  as  to 
the  affections,  is  a  love  of  God  so  perfect  as  to  "rule  the 
heart,  and  exclude  all  rivalry,  and  a  meekness  so  perfect 
as  to  cast  out  all  sinful  anger,  and  prevent  its  return;  and 
that  as  to  good  works,  the  rule  is,  that  we  shall  be  so 
"perfect  in  every  good  work,"  as  to  "do  the  will  of  God" 
habitually,  fijlly,  and  constantly.  If  we  fix  the  standard 
lower,  we  let  in  a  license  totally  inconsistent  with  that 
Christian  purity  which  is  allowed  by  all  to  be  attainable, 
and  we  make  every  man  himself  his  own  interpreter  of 
that  comparative  perfection  which  is  often  contended  for 
as  that  only  which  is  attainable. 

Some,  it  is  true,  admit  the  extent  of  the  promises  and 
the  requirements  of  the  Gospel  as  we  have  stated  them; 
but  they  contend,  that  this  is  the  mark  at  which  we  are 
to  aim,  the  standard  toward  which  we  are  to  aspire, 
though  neither  is  attainable  fully  till  death.  But  this 
view  cannot  be  true  as  applied  to  sanciijication,  or  de- 
liverance from  all  inward  and  outward  sin.  That  the 
degree  of  every  virtue  implanted  by  grace  is  not  limited, 
but  advances  and  grows  in  the  living  Christian  throughout 
life,  may  be  granted;  and  through  eternity  also:  but  to  say 
that  these  virtues  are  not  attainable,  through  the  work 
of  the  Spirit,  in  that  degree  which  shall  destroy  all  oppo- 
site vice,  is  to  say,  that  God,  under  the  gospel,  requires 


198 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFIOATION. 


US  to  be  what  we  cannot  be,  either  through  want  of 
efficacy  in  his  grace,  or  from  some  defect  in  its  adminis- 
tration; neither  of  which  has  any  countenance  from 
Scripture,  nor  is  at  all  consistent  with  the  terms  in  which 
the  promises  and  exhortations  of  the  gospel  are  express- 
ed. It  is  also  contradicted  by  our  own  consciousness, 
which  charges  our  criminal  neglects  and  failures  upon 
ourselves,  and  not  upon  the  grace  of  God,  as  though  it 
were  insufficient.  Either  the  consciences  of  good  men 
have  in  all  ages  been  delusive  and  over  scrupulous;  or 
this  doctrine  of  the  necessary,  though  occasional,  do- 
minion of  sin  over  us  is  false. 

5.  The  doctrine  of  the  necessary  indwelling  of  sin  in 
the  soul  till  death  involves  other  antiscriptural  conse- 
quences. It  supposes  that  the  seat  of  sin  is  in  the  flesh, 
and  thus  harmonizes  with  the  pagan  philosophy,  which 
attributed  all  evil  to  matter.  The  doctrine  of  the  Bible, 
on  the  contrary,  is,  that  the  seat  of  sin  is  in  the  soul; 
and  it  makes  it  one  of  the  proofs  of  the  fall  and  corrup- 
tion of  our  spiritual  nature,  that  we  are  in  bondage  to  the 
appetites  and  motions  of  the  flesh.  Nor  does  the  theory 
which  places  the  necessity  of  sinning,  in  the  connection 
of  the  soul  with  the  body,  account  for  the  whole  moral 
case  of  man.  There  are  sins,  as  jnide,  covetousness, 
malice,  and  others,  which  are  wholly  spiritual;  and  yet 
no  exception  is  made  in  this  doctrine  of  the  necessary 
continuance  of  sin  till  death  as  to  them.  There  is,  surely 
no  need  to  wait  for  the  separation  of  the  soul  from  the 
body  in  order  to  be  saved  from  evils  which  are  the  sole 
offspring  of  the  spirit;  and  yet  these  are  made  as  inevita- 
ble as  the  sins  which  more  immediately  connect  them- 
selves with  the  excitements  of  the  animal  nature. 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION,  199 

This  doctrine  supposes,  too,  th.it  the  flesh  must  neces- 
sarily not  only  lust  against  the  Spirit,  but  in  no  small  de- 
gree,  and  on  many  occasions,  be  the  conqueror:  whereas, 
we  are  commanded,  to  '^mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body;" 
to  "crucify,"  that  is,  to  put  to  death,  "the  flesh;"  to  put 
off  the  old  man,"  which,  in  its  full  meaning,  must  import 
separation  from  sin  in  fact,  as  well  as  the  renunciation  of 
it  in  will;  and  "to  put  on  the  new  man.''  Finally,  the 
apostle  expressly  states,  that  though  the  flesh  stands 
victoriously  opposed  to  legal  sanctification,  it  is  not  in 
superable  by  evangelical  holiness. — '^For  what  the  law 
could  not  do  in  that  it  was  weak  through  thef  esh,  God 
sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and 
for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh;  that  the  righteousness 
of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after 
the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,"  Rom.  viii,  3,  4.  So  incon- 
sistent with  the  declarations  and  promises  of  the  Gospel 
is  the  notion  that,  so  long  as  we  are  in  the  body,  "the 
flesh"  must  of  necessity  have  at  least  the  occasional  do- 
minion. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  as  to  the  time  our  complete 
sanctification,  or,  to  use  the  phrase  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
"the  destruction  of  the  body  of  sin;"  that  it  can  neither 
be  referred  to  the  hour  of  death,  nor  placed  subsequently 
to  this  present  life.  The  attainment  of  perfect  freedom 
from  sin  is  one  to  which  believers  are  called  during  the 
present  life;  and  is  necessary  to  that  completeness  of 
"holiness,''  and  of  those  active  and  passive  graces  of 
Christianity  by  which  they  are  called  to  glorify  God  in 
this  world,  and  to  edify  mankind. 

Not  only  the  time,  but  the  manner  also,  of  our  sanctifi- 
cation has  been  matter  of  controversy:  some  contending 


200 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFXCATION. 


that  all  attainable  degrees  of  it  are  acquired  by  the 
process  of  gradual  mortification  and  the  acquisition  of 
holy  habits;  others  alleging  it  to  be  instantaneous,  and 
the  fruit  of  an  act  of  failh  in  the  divine  promises. 

That  the  regeneration  which  accompanies  justification 
is  a  large  approach  to  this  state  of  perfected  holiness;  and 
that  all  dying  to  sin,  and  all  growth  in  grace,  advances  us 
nearer  to  this  point  of  entire  sanctity,  is  so  obvious,  that  on 
these  points  there  can  be  no  reasonable  dispute.  But  they 
are  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  a  more  instantaneous  work, 
when,  the  depth  of  our  natural  depravity  being  more 
painfully  ieit,  we  plead  in  iaitii  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promises  of  God.  The  great  question  to  be  settled  is, 
whether  the  deliverance  sighed  after  be  held  out  to  us  in 
these  promises  as  a  present  blessing?  And  from  what  has 
been  already  said,  there  a|)pears  no  ground  to  doubt  this; 
since  no  small  violence  would  be  offered  to  the  passages 
of  Scripture  already  quoted,  as  well  as  to  many  others, 
by  the  opposite  opinion.  All  the  promises  of  God  which 
are  not  expressly,  or  from  their  order,  referred  to  future 
time,  are  objects  of  prescjit  trust;  and  their  fulfilment 
noxo  is  made  conditional  only  upon  our  faith.  They  can- 
not, therefore,  be  pleaded  in  our  prayers,  with  an  entire 
reliance  upon  the  truth  of  God,  in  vain.  The  general 
promise  that  we  shall  receive  "all  things  whatsoever  we 
ask  in  prayer,  believing,''  comprehends,  of  course,  "all 
things"  suited  to  our  case  which  God  has  engaged  to 
bestow;  and  if  the  entire  renewal  of  our  nature  be  in- 
cluded in  the  number,  without  any  limitation  of  time, 
except  that  in  which  we  ask  it  in  faith,  then  to  this  faith 
shall  the  promises  of  entire  sanctification  be  given;  which 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  supposes  an  instantaneous  work 


ENTIRE   SANCTIFICATION.  201 

immediately  following  upon  our  entire  and  unwavering 
faith. 

The  only  plausible  objections  made  to  this  doctrine 
may  be  answered  in  few  words. 

It  has  been  urged,  that  this  state  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  supposes  future  impeccability.  Certainly  not;  for  if  *  ^ 
angels  and  our  first  parents  fell  when  in  a  state  of  im- 
maculate sanctity,  the  renovated  man  cannot  be  placed, 
by  his  entire  deliverance  from  inward  sin,  out  of  the 
reach  of  danger.  This  remark,  also,  answers  the  alle- 
gation, that  we  should  thus  be  removed  out  of  the 
reach  of  temptation;  for  the  example  of  angels,  and  of 
thb  first  man,  who  fell  by  temptation  when  in  a  state  of 
native  purity,  proves  that  the  absence  of  inward  evil  is 
not  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  probation;  and  that  this, 
in  itself,  is  no  guard  against  the  attempts  and  solicitations 
of  evil. 

It  has  been  objected,  too,  that  this  supposed  state  ren- 
ders the  atonement  and  intercession  of  Christ  superfluous  * 
in  future.  But  the  very  contrary  of  this  is  manifest 
when  the  case  of  an  evangelical  renewal  of  the  soul  in 
righteousness  is  understood.  This  proceeds  from  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the 
efficient  cause;  it  is  received  by  faith  as  the  instrumental 
cause;  and  the  state  itself  into  which  we  are  raised  is 
maintained,  not  by  inherent  native  power,  but  by  the  con- 
tinual presence  and  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit  himself,  received  and  retained  in  answer  to  cease- 
less prayer;  which  prayer  has  respect  solely  to  the  merits 
of  the  death  and  intercession  of  Christ. 

It  has  been  farther  alleged,  that  a  person  delivered 
from  all  inward  and  outward  sin  has  no  longer  need  to 
18* 


200 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFXCATION. 


that  all  attainable  degrees  of  it  are  acquired  by  the 
process  of  gradual  mortification  and  the  acquisition  of 
holy  habits;  others  alleging  it  to  be  instantaneous,  and 
the  fruit  of  an  act  of  failh  in  the  divine  promises. 

That  the  regeneration  which  accompanies  justification 
is  a  large  approach  to  this  state  of  perfected  holiness;  and 
that  all  dying  to  sin,  and  all  growth  in  grace,  advances  us 
nearer  to  this  point  of  entire  sanctity,  is  so  obvious,  that  on 
these  points  there  can  be  no  reasonable  dispute.  But  they 
are  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  a  more  instantaneous  work, 
when,  the  depth  of  our  natural  depravity  being  more 
painfully  felt,  we  plead  in  tailh  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promises  of  God.  The  great  question  to  be  settled  is, 
whether  the  deliverance  sighed  after  be  held  out  to  us  in 
these  promises  as  a  present  blessing?  And  from  what  has 
been  already  said,  there  appears  no  ground  to  doubt  this; 
since  no  small  violence  would  be  oflered  to  the  passages 
of  Scripture  already  quoted,  as  well  as  to  many  others, 
by  the  opposite  opinion.  All  the  promises  of  God  which 
are  not  expressly,  or  from  their  order,  referred  to  future 
time,  are  objects  of  present  trust;  and  their  fulfilment 
noto  is  made  conditional  only  upon  our  faith.  They  can- 
not, therefore,  be  pleaded  in  our  prayers,  with  an  entire 
reliance  upon  the  truth  of  God,  in  vain.  The  general 
promise  that  we  shall  receive  "all  things  whatsoever  we 
ask  in  prayer,  believing,''  comprehends,  of  course,  "all 
things"  suited  to  our  case  which  God  has  engaged  to 
bestow;  and  if  the  entire  renewal  of  our  nature  be  in- 
cluded in  the  number,  without  any  limitation  of  time, 
except  that  in  which  we  ask  it  in  faith,  then  to  this  faith 
shall  the  promises  of  entire  sanctification  be  given;  which 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  supposes  an  instantaneous  work 


ENTIRE   SANCTIFICATION.  201 

immediately  following  upon  our  entire  and  unwavering 
faith. 

The  only  plausible  objections  made  to  this  doctrine 
may  be  answered  in  few  words. 

It  has  been  urged,  that  this  state  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion  supposes  future  impeccability.  Certainly  not;  for  if 
angels  and  our  first  parents  fell  when  in  a  state  of  im- 
maculate sanctity,  the  renovated  man  cannot  be  placed, 
by  his  entire  deliverance  from  inward  sin,  out  of  the 
reach  of  danger.  This  remark,  also,  answers  the  alle- 
gation, that  we  should  thus  be  removed  out  of  the 
reach  of  temptation;  for  the  example  of  angels,  and  of 
thb  first  man,  who  fell  by  temptation  when  in  a  state  of 
native  purity,  proves  that  the  absence  of  inward  evil  is 
not  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  probation;  and  that  this, 
in  itself,  is  no  guard  against  the  attempts  and  solicitations 
of  evil. 

It  has  been  objected,  too,  that  this  supposed  state  ren- 
ders the  atonement  and  intercession  of  Christ  superfluous 
in  future.  But  the  very  contrary  of  this  is  manifest 
when  the  case  of  an  evangelical  renewal  of  the  soul  in 
righteousness  is  understood.  This  proceeds  from  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the 
efficient  cause;  it  is  received  by  faith  as  the  instrumental 
cause;  and  the  state  itself  into  vvliicli  we  are  raised  is 
maintained,  not  by  inherent  native  power,  but  by  the  con- 
tinual presence  and  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  himself,  received  and  retained  in  answer  to  cease- 
less prayer;  which  prayer  has  respect  solely  to  the  merits 
of  the  death  and  intercession  of  Christ. 

It  has  been  farther  alleged,  that  a  person  delivered 
from  all  inward  and  outward  sin  has  no  longer  need  to 
18*  ^ 


'^"'^  ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 

use  the  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer, — "and  forgive  us 
our  trespasses;''  because  he  has  no  longer  need  of  pardon. 
To  this  we  reply,  1.  That  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose 
that  any  person  is  placed  under  the  necessity  of  "tres- 
passing,'' in  order  that  a  general  prayer  designed  for 
men  in  a  mixed  condition  might  retain  its  aptness  to 
every  particular  case.  2.  That  trespassing  of  every 
kind  and  degree  is  not  supposed  by  this  prayer  to  be 
continued,  iu  order  that  it  might  be  used  always  in 
the  same  import,  or  otherwise  it  might  be  pleaded 
against  the  renunciation  of  any  trespass  or  transgres- 
sion whatever.  3.  That  this  petition  is  still  relevant 
to  the  case  of  the  entirely  sanctified  and  the  evangeli- 
cally perfect,  since  neither  the  perfection  of  the  first 
man  nor  that  of  angels  is  in  question;  that  is  a  perfec- 
tion measured  by  the  perfect  law,  which,  in  its  obliga- 
tions,  contemplates  all  creatures  as  having  sustained  no 
injury  by  moral  lapse,  and  admits  therefore,  of  no  excuse 
from  infirmities  and  mistakes  of  judgment;  nor  of  any 
degree  of  obedience  below  that  which  beings  created 
naturally  perfect,  were  capable  of  rendering.  There  may, 
however,  be  an  entire  sanctification  of  a  being  rendered 
naturally  weak  and  imperfect,  and  so  liable  to  mistake 
and  infirmity,  as  well  as  to  defect  in  the  degree  of  that 
absolute  obedience  and  service  which  the  law  of  God, 
never  bent  or  lowered  to  human  weakness,  demands  from 
all.  These  defects,  and  mistakes,  and  infirmities,  may 
be  quite  consistent  with  the  entire  sanctification  of  the 
soul  and  the  moral  maturity  of  a  being  still  naturally  in- 
firm and  imperfect.  Still,  farther,  if  this  were  not  a 
sufficient  answer,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  we  are  not 
the  ultimate  judges  of  our  own  case  as  to  our  ''trespass- 


ENTIRE  SANCTIFICATION. 


203 


es,"  or  our  exemption  from  them;  and  we  are  not,  there- 
fore, to  put  ourselves  into  the  place  of  God,  "who  is 
greater  than  our  hearts,"  So,  although  St.  Paul  says, 
"I  know  nothing  by  myself,''  that  is,  I  am  conscious  of 
no  offence,  he  adds,  "yet  am  I  not  hereby  justified;  but 
he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord:"  to  whom,  therefore, 
the  appeal  is  every  moment  to  be  made  through  Christ 
the  Mediator,  and  who,  by  the  renewed  testimony  of  his 
Spirit,  assures  every  true  believer  of  his  acceptance  in 
his  sight. 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


BY  R.  TREFFRY. 


Let  us  go  on  unto  perkction.    Hibrcws  vi,  1. 

Is  every  scheme  of  religion  there  is  one  principal 
position,  which,  like  the  foundation  of  an  edifice,  sup- 
ports the  whole  system;  and  there  is  generally  some 
doctrine,  which,  like  the  top-stone,  gives  a  finish  to  the 
fabric.  In  Christianity,  the  former  of  these  is  the  doc- 
trine of  human  depravity,  or  the  total  degeneracy  of 
mankind;  and  the  latter,  the  perfection  of  the  soul  in 
divine  love;  or  the  being  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God.  I  am  well  aware  that  this  doctrine  of  perfection 
has  been  totally  denied  by  some,  and  warmly  contro- 
verted by  others;  and  subjects  of  controversy  it  is  said 
should  never  be  introduced  into  the  pulpit;  but  I  know 
of  no  truth  within  the  whole  compass  of  Christianity 
which  some  have  not  controverted;  and  if  you  were  to 
hear  nothing  from  the  pulpit  but  what  is  self-evident,  or 
indisputably  certain,  the  various  topics  of  our  ministry 
must  be  abandoned,  and  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  be 
left  without  an  embassy.  Atheists  deny  the  existence 
of  God;  Deists  the  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures;  Pe- 
lagians the  degeneracy  of  man;  Socinians  the  atone- 


206  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

ment  of  Christ;  Fatalists  the  free  agency  of  human 
beings;  Materialists  the  immortality  of  the  soul;  Uni- 
versalists  the  eternity  of  hell's  torments;  and  so  on,  in 
reference  to  all  the  doctrines  that  compose  the  Christian 
system.  But  the  pure  gold  of  truth  can  sustain  no  in- 
jury by  the  fires  of  controversy,  through  which  it  is 
made  to  pass;  its  value  can  be  appreciated  only  in  pro- 
portion as  it  is  known,  and  its  lustre  best  discovered 
by  exposure.  The  subject  before  us  is  highly  impor- 
tant in  its  nature,  and  most  interesting  in  its  results; 
and  though  I  cannot  indulge  the  expectation  that  the 
mode  which  may  be  adopted  to  unfold  its  beauties,  will 
meet  the  approbation  of  all  my  hearers,  yet  I  must 
crave  their  serious  attention,  and  fervent  prayers,  while 
I  endeavor  to  state, 

I.  The  nature  of  perfection. 
II,  The  way  to  go  on  unto  it. 

III.  The  motives  that  should  urge  us  to  attend  to 
the  apostolic  advice;  "let  us  go  on,"  &c. 

1st.  The  nature  of  perfection, — that  such  a  state  ne- 
cessarily  exists,  is  a  truth  that  I  am  persuaded  cannot 
be  successfully  controverted;  names  are  the  signs  of 
things,  and  wherever  there  is  a  name,  there  is  a  thing 
signified  by  that  name;  when  you  hear  of  bondage,  or 
liberty,  sickness,  or  health,  pain,  or  ease,  you  naturally 
understand  that  there  are  certain  states,  which  these 
names  are  intended  to  describe;  and  although  you  may 
not  be  able  to  ascertain  by  experience,  what  these  states 
are;  yet  it  would  be  absurd  to  deny  their  existence,  as 
you  must  know  that  things  give  birth  to  names,  as  sub- 
stances do  to  shadows;  and  you  can  as  easily  imagine 
the  appearance  of  a  shadow,  without  an  intervening 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


207 


substance  to  form  it,  as  the  existence  of  a  name,  with- 
out a  thing  to  wliich  it  is  apphed;  and  to  say  there  is  no 
such  state  as  perfection,  is  not  only  to  give  the  lie  to  the 
apostle,  wlio  urges  us  to  go  on  unto  it,  but  to  pour  con- 
tempt upon  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whose  immediate  inspi- 
ration the  text  was  dictated. 

Every  thing  in  existence  has  its  state  of  perfection. 
Look  at  the  works  of  art,  and  you  will  perceive  that 
there  is  a  certain  species  of  perfection  that  belongs  to 
every  piece  of  mechanism;  and  altiiough  there  may  be 
various  defects  attached  to  human  compositions,  yet  per- 
fection is  uniformly  aimed  at,  and  not  unfrequently 
attained.  Hence  we  say,  ''the  fine  arts  have  recently 
been  brought  to  great  perfection.''  When  a  picture 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  its  original,  we  call  it  a 
"perfect  likeness."  And  when  a  man  becomes  an  adept 
in  music,  we  say,  "he  plays  to  pertection.'' 

Look  through  the  vegetable  kingdom,  from  "the 
cedar-tree  that  is  in  Lebanon,  even  unto  the  hyssop 
that  springeth  out  of  the  wall,"  and  you  will  find  that 
there  is  a  degree  of  perfection  essential  to  the  several 
orders  of  plants,  and  although  the  barrenness  of  the 
soil,  the  inclemency  of  the  climate,  or  the  obstructed 
circulation  of  the  juices,  may  cause  some  to  be  sickly 
and  unfruittul,  yet  even  these  defects  serve  more  strongly 
to  confirm  the  idea,  that  there  is  general  perfection  in 
the  species. 

Look  through  the  animal  tribes,  from  the  huge  le- 
viathan, and  unwieldly  elephant,  down  to  the  smallest 
mite  and  animalcule;  and  you  will  perceive  that  they 
have  all  their  distinct  states  of  perfection:  you  may  oc- 
casionally indeed,  see  a  monster  in  nature,  having  a 


208 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


deficiency  or  redundancy  of  parts,  yet  even  this  serves 
to  show  that  there  must  be  a  standard  of  perfection  be- 
longing to  animal  nature,  as  certainly  as  the  deviations 
of  error  prove  that  there  must  be  lines  of  truth.  And 
shall  we  deny  to  religion  what  we  grant  to  almost  every 
thing  besides?  Have  the  different  orders  of  beings  in 
nature,  and  the  various  works  of  art,  their  several 
degrees  of  perfection?  And  has  religion,  which  is 
the  soul  of  happiness  and  the  noblest  ornament  of  human 
nature,  no  perfection?  Indeed,  the  man  who  undertakes 
to  prove  this,  must  necessarily  involve  himself  in  inex- 
tricable difiicuUies. 

To  do  it  effectually  he  should  know  the  precise  and 
full  import  of  every  text  in  the  Scriptures;  for  if  theite 
be  one  passage  in  all  the  oracles  of  God,  whose  meaning 
he  does  not  understand,  or  concerning  which  there  is  a 
possibility  of  his  hf'.'mg  deceived:  that  text  may  for 
aught  he  knows,  inculcate  the  doctrine  of  perfection. 
He  must  also  possess  a  complete  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  expcrirnco  of  all  the  professors  of  religion 
throughout  the  whole  world,  for  if  there  be  one  man  in 
existence,  whose  experience  he  does  not  know,  that  man 
may  enjoy  the  blessing  of  perfection. 

He  must  be  able  fully  to  comprehend,  the  utmost  acts 
of  divine  power,  the  utmost  efficacy  of  the  blood  of  the 
covenant,  and  the  utmost  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  the  salvation  of  mankind:  for  if  there  be  any  opera- 
tion of  Gdd,  any  efficacy  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  any 
influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  which  he  is  unac- 
quainted, that  operation,  efficacy  or  influence,  may  pro- 
duce perfection  in  the  human  soul,  and  could  you  ima- 
gine it  possible  to  find  a  man  endowed  with  these  super- 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


209 


human  qualifications:  and  invested  with  these  divine 
prerogatives;  yet  the  point  would  be  so  far  from  being 
settled  by  his  decision,  that  he  himself  would  stand  a 
living  testimony  to  confront  his  own  thesis;  as  nothing 
short  of  absolute  perfection,  could  render  him  compe- 
tent ti)  set  the  controversy  at  rest. 

Should  the  advocates  for  religious  imperfection  reply, 
"we  are  under  no  obligation  to  prove  that  perfection 
does  not  exist,  you  must  prove  that  it  r/oes."  To  this  I 
answer,  there  is  not  only  as  much  evidence  for  this  doc- 
trine as  any  candid  and  unprejudiced  mind  can  require, 
but  as  much  as  the  subject  can  possibly  admit. 

1st.  This  perfection  is  a  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  not 
indicated  by  obscure  hints,  or  indirect  inferences,  but 
established  by  plain  and  circumstantial  statements,  and 
if  there  be  no  such  thing  as  perfection,  the.  book  that 
makes  such  frequent  mention  of  it,  "is  no  bf^tfer  than  a 
popish  legend,  which  recommends  imaginary  things  as 
if  they  were  indubitable  realities." 

2d.  Multitudes  of  living  characters  have  borne  wit- 
ness to  its  truth,  and  testified  its  reality:  and  is  it  not 
the  excess  of  uncharitableness  to  question  the  genuine- 
ness of  their  experience,  when  there  is  nothing  in  their 
tempers  or  dispositions,  inconsistent  with  their  profes- 
sion? Indeed  should  we  positively  reject  the  testimony 
of  all  modern  Christians:  and  brand  with  deception  or 
hypocrisy,  the  most  pious  of  our  brethren,  still  we 
should  recollect  that  there  is  a  Bible,  to  which,  as  Chris- 
tians, we  must  subscribe,  and  there  we  read  that  "Noah 
was  a  just  man  and  perfect  in  his  generation.''  "Job 
was  a  man  perfect  and  upright."  David  said,  "mark 
the  perfect  man,"  and  St.  Paul  declared,  "we  speak  wis- 


210 


CHRISTIAjV  perfectioiv. 


dom  among  them  that  are  perfect,"  and  if  there  were 
those  in  the  primitive  church  who  were  perfect,  they  at 
least,  must  have  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  perfection,  for 
to  suppose  a  perfect  man  without  perfection,  is  equally 
as  absurd  as  to  imagine  a  wise  man  without  wisdom, 
a  strong  man  without  strength,  or  a  healthy  nian  with- 
out health:  and  even  if  it  were  admitted  as  a  fact,  that 
among  all  the  advocates  for  this  perfection,  not  one  pos- 
sesses it;  yet,  it  could  not  militate  against  the  truth  of 
the  doctrine,  unless  it  could  be  proved  that  the  privi- 
leges of  Christians  have  been  curtailed  since  the  apos- 
tolic age,  and  "the  everlasting  covenant  disannulled." 

3d.  The  precepts  of  God  lead  us  not  only  to  believe 
it  possible  to  attain  perfection  as  our  privilege,  but  they 
press  it  upon  us  as  our  duty,  and  the  following  texts, 
which  must  be  familiar  to  many  of  my  hearers,  stands 
recorded  in  the  book  of  God.    "Walk  before  me,  and 
be  thou  perfect.''    "Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  as  your 
.  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."     "Be  perfect,  be 
^  of  good  comfort,  he  of  one  mind,"  &c.    "This  also  we 
'(J  wish,  even  your  perfection:"  and  "let  us  go  on  unto 
ll  perfection.''    But  on  this  point  I  will  not  enlarge:  I 
S  take  it  for  granted  that  my  hearers  believe  in  the  exist- 
ence of  the  thing,  and  therefore  proceed  to  unfold 
its  nature. 

Perfection  has  a  two-fold  character,  there  is  a  perfec- 
tion of  parts,  and  a  perfection  of  degrees.  A  thing  is 
perfect  in  the  former  sense,  when  it  possesses  all  the 
properties  or  qualities  which  are  essential  to  its  nature, 
without  any  deficiency,  or  redundancy;  thus  a  machine 
is  perfect,  when  it  has  all  its  parts,  and  these  parts  so 
admirably  disposed,  as  completely  to  answer  the  purpose 


CIIRISTIAX   PERFKCTIOX.  211 

for  which  it  is  formed.  Thus  a  human  body  is  perfect, 
when  it  has  ail  the  limbs,  muscles,  arteries,  veins,  &c. 
that  belong  to  a  human  body,  and  thus  I  conceive  every 
Christian  believer  is  perfect,  as  he  is  endowed  with  all 
the  graces  of  the  spirit,  and  the  "fruits  of  righteous- 
ness, which  are  by  Jesus  Christ  to  the  glory  and  praise 
of  God."  And  this  ki.id  of  perfection  admits  of  no 
increase,  any  addition  would  def;\ce  the  beauty  and 
destroy  the  harmony  of  the  whole:  add  another  wheel 
to  your  watches,  and  the  purpose  would  be  defeated  for 
which  they  are  formed,  imagine  another  limb  joined  to 
a  human  body,  and  it  would  disfigure,  rather  than  beau- 
tify it,  and  retard,  rather  than  accelerate  its  motion. 
In  religion  indeed  the  imagination  cannot  picture  any 
additional  virtue,  nor  the  mind  conceive  of  any  new 
grace  to  be  joined  to  the  Christian  character,  the  fee- 
blest saint  is  as  perfect  in  this  sense  as  the  most  estab- 
lished Christian,  and  the  babe  as  complete  as  the  man. 
And  I  greatly  question  whether  the  glorified  spirits  in 
heaven,  are  more  perfect  in  this  view  than  the  saints 
upon  earth,  for  if  old  things  pass  away,  and  all  things 
become  new,  when  the  soul  is  vitally  united  to  Christ, 
may  we  not  suppose  that  the  most  consummate  state  of 
blessedness  in  the  kingdom  of  God  consists  in  the  end- 
less accessions,  which  those  graces  will  receive  that 
adorn  the  soul  in  this  world. 

Do  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  love  God 
with  an  intense  ardor  and  growing  attachment?  And 
is  not  "the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us?''  Do  not  we 
"love  him  because  he  first  loved  us?"  Do  they  possess 
"a  fulness  of  joy,  and  pleasures  for  evermore?''  And 


212 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


do  not  "we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of 
glory?"'  "And  return  to  Zion  with  singing,  and  ever- 
lasting joy  upon  our  heads?'' 

Do  they  see  Christ  as  he  is,  and  participate  his  like- 
ness? "And  4o  not  we  behold  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of 
the  Lord,  till  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory 
to  glory,  as  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord?" 

Do  they  say  with  a  loud  voice,  "worthy  is  tlie  Lamb 
that  was  slain,  to  receive  power  and  riches,  and  wisdom 
and  strength,  and  honor  and  ^lory,  and  blessing?"  And 
do  not  "we  sing  and  make  melody  in  our  hearts  unto 
the  Lord?" 

"Thee  they  sing  with  glory  crown'd, 

We  extol  the  slaughter'd  Lamb, 
Lower  if  our  voices  sound, 

Our  subject  is  the  same." 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  assert  any  thing  positively  on 
this  subject,  it  is  possible  there  may  be  latent  powers  in 
the  human  soul,  which  never  can  be  developed  in  this 
world,  but  which  may  in  a  future  state  of  existence, 
give  birth  to  new  and  endless  enjoyments;  for  if  this 
life  be  only  "the  bud  of  being,"  what  finite  mind  can 
conceive  the  glories  that  will  await  us,  when  we  blos- 
som with  unfading  beauty,  in  the  garden  of  Paradise? 

2d.  Perfection  may  be  considered  in  reference  to  its 
degrees.  I  do  not  like  this  term,  as  J  am  conscious  it 
may  be  abused,  but  it  is  the  best  I  can  find  to  express 
my  meaning,  it  implies  the  having  all  the  "fruits  of  the 
spirit"  brought  to  such  maturity,  as  to  exclude  every 
opposing  principle,  and  every  contrary  temper.  A  man 
may  be  perfect  in  the  former  sense,  and  imperfect  in 
the  latter;  just  as  a  child  may  be  perfect  in  parts,  and 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


213 


imperfect  in  degrees,  he  may  have  all  the  limbs,  and  so 
on,  of  a  human  being;  but  not  the  strength,  the  vigor, 
nor  the  intellectual  endowments  of  a  man.  And  thus  a 
Christian,  who  has  been  recently  "born  of  God,''  and 
just  introduced  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  gospel, 
may  have  all  the  graces  of  Cliristianity,  and  yet  these 
may  exist  in  imperfect  degrees:  for  instance,  every 
Christian  possesses  a  confidence  in  God,  a  trust  in  his 
promises,  and  a  reliance  upon  his  veracity,  not  the  con- 
fidence of  ignorance,  nor  of  presumption,  but  the  genu- 
ine offspring  of  experimental  knowledge,  for  "they  that 
know  thy  name,  (saith  David,)  will  put  their  trust  in 
thee."  But  this  confidence,  though  perfect  in  its  prin- 
ciple, is  imperfect  in  its  degree,  it  is  sometimes  disturbed 
by  doubts,  molested  by  fears,  or  harrassed  by  anxious 
cares,  but  when  the  soul  has  attained  to  maturity  in 
Christian  holiness,  this  confidence  is  perfect,  and  doubt, 
distrust,  and  fear,  cease  to  exist.  And  though  in  refer- 
ence to  worldly  things  the  Christian  may  walk  "in 
darkness,  and  have  no  light,"  the  fig-tree  may  not  blos- 
som, nor  fruit  be  in  the  vine,  friends  may  desert  him, 
and  foes  meditate  his  ruin,  yet  ''he  shall  not  be  afraid  of 
evil  tidings,  his  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord," 
hence  he  can  say  with  Job,  "though  he  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  in  him,"  or  with  the  poet, 

"Tho'  waves  and  storms  go  o'er  my  head, 
Tho'  health  and  strength,  and  friends  be  gone, 

Tho'  joys  be  withered  all,  and  dead, 
Tho'  every  comfort  be  withdrawn; 

On  this  my  steadfast  soul  relies, 

Father  thy  mercy  never  dies." 

Every  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  loves  God, 
19* 


214 


CHRISTIAN  TEKFECTION. 


and  gives  the  most  indubitable  evidence  of  that  love,  by 
keeping  God's  commandments:  and  doing  the  things 
that  please  him.  But  this  love  although  perfect  in  its 
nature,  is  not  in  its  degree,  there  may  be  an  undue  at- 
tachment to  ,the  world,  an  improper  fondness  for  the 
creature,  or  an  inordinate  degree  of  self-love,  but  when 
the  Christian  has  gone  on  "unto  perfection,"  then  he 
"loves  God  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his  soul,  and 
with  all  his  mind,  and  with  all  his  strength,  and  his 
neighbor  as  himself."  This  love  knows  no  rival,  nei- 
ther the  seductions  of  sin,  nor  the  lures  of  the  world, 
nor  the  charms  of  the  creature,  can  alienate  the  affec- 
tions from  the  sole  object  that  has  engrossed  them,  for 
such  a  man,  wealth  has  no  value,  pleasure  no  attraction, 
honor  no  brilliance,  and  dignities  no  splendor:  hence  he 
adopts  the  language  of  the  poet, 

All  my  treasure  is  above, 
All  my  riches  is  thy  love, 
Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee? 
Thou  art  all  ia  all  to  me. 

This  love  admits  of  no  comparison,  the  sacrifices 
which  lovers  have  made,  to  gratify  the  darling  objects 
of  their  affections,  have  sometimes  exceeded  credibility. 
Vows  have  been  pledged, — riches  lavished, — and  health 
sacrificed,  at  the  shrine  of  sensual  love,  but  the  perfect 
Christian,  under  the  influence  of  divine  love,  ofl^ers  up 
all  to  his  God;  his  understanding  to  contemplate  his  in- 
finite excellencies;  his  will  to  submit  to  his  wise  dispen- 
sations: his  affections  to  adore  his  matchless  goodness; 
his  talents  to  extend  tiie  glory  of  his  name,  and  his  very 
life,  if  necessary,  to  advance  the  honor  of  his  cause. 
And  this  love  knows  no  intermission;  it  is  not  a  spark 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION,  215 

emitted  from  the  blaze  of  prosperity,  and  fanned  with 
the  soft  breezes  of  carnal  pleasure,  but  a  flame  eokin- 
dled  by  the  sun  of  righteousness,  which  many  waters 
cannot  quench,  nor  the  floods  drown.  Witti  the  poet, 
the  subject  of  it  can  say: 

"Thee  will  I  love  my  joy  my  crown, 

Thee  will  I  love  my  Lord  my  God: 
Thee  will  I  love  beneath  thy  frown 

Or  smile,  thy  sceptre  or  thy  rod. 
What  tho'  my  flesh  and  heart  decay. 
Thee  shall  I  love  in  endless  day." 

Every  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  possesses 
peace,  "peace  with  God''  by  the  justification  of  his  per- 
son, and  peace  of  conscience  by  the  renewal  of  his 
heart,  the  fierce  passions,  and  violent  tempers  which 
once  raged  within  have  subsided,  and  the  storm  has 
been  hushed  to  peace:  but  this  peace  though  perfect  in 
its  kind,  is  yet  imperfect  in  degree,  it  is  subject  to  fre- 
quent interruptions,  sometimes  by  strong  temptations, 
which  come  in  upon  the  Christian  like  a  flood,  and  at 
others  by  the  roots  of  bitterness  which  spring  up  and 
trouble  him,  but  when  the  sou!  has  attained  to  maturity 
in  holiness,  then  there  is  a  perfection  of  this  peace,  and 
God's  promise  is  graciously  accomplislied,  "thou  wilt 
keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  wliose  mind  is  stayed  upon 
tliee.''  How  descriptive  is  the  prophetic  language  ou 
this  subject.  "O  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  to  my  com-  e 
mandments!  then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river."  A 
river,  not  a  torrent,  rough  and  boisterous,  rushing  down 
from  the  neighboring  steep,  and  forcing  every  thing  be- 
fore it  with  desolating  roar,  this  is  a  just  emblem  of 
passionate  people,  whose  tempers  are  roused  by  every 


216 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


trifle;  a  river,— not  a  pool,  whose  waters  fail  when  the 
heavens  cease  to  pour  down  their  liquid  treasures,  but 
''a  river''  smooth  and  tranquil,  flowing  on  without  inter- 
ruption, widening  and  deepening  as  it  flows,  till  it  loses 
itself  in  the  ocean.  And  this  peace  not  only  "keeps  the 
heart  and  mind  through  Christ  Jesus,  but  it  passeth  all 
understanding,''  hence  the  soul  can  realize  the  truth  of 
the  following  sentiments. 

Careful  without  care  I  am, 

Nor  feel  my  liappy  toil; 
Kept  in  peace  by  Jesus'  name, 

Supported  by  his  smile; 
Joyful  thus  my  faith  to  show, 

I  find  iiis  service  my  reward, 
Every  worlc  I  do  below, 

I  do  it  to  the  Lord. 

Thou,  O  Lord,  in  tender  love, 

Dost  all  my  burdens  bear; 
Lift  my  heai  t  to  things  above. 

And  keep  it  ever  there: 
Calm  on  tumult's  wheels  I  sit, 

Midst  busy  multitudes  alone; 
Sweetly  waiting  at  thy  feet, 

'Till  all  thy  will  be  done. 

Every  Christian  believer  possesses  patience,  it  is  one 
of  the  fruits  whicli  the  Holy  Ghost  produceth  in  the  re- 
generate mind.  In  a  world  like  this,  trials  will  happen, 
provocations  will  arise,  and  afflictions  will  occur,  and 
nothing  is  more  necesssary  to  the  believer  than  patience; 
but  alas,  too  frequently,  he  feels  when  reproached  un- 
justly, the  risings  of  resentment,  or  when  afflicted 
deeply  and  chastened  with  sore  pain,  the  remains  of  im- 
patience, or  when  his  expectations  are  cut  off",  the  sallies 


CHRISTIAN  PEKFECTION. 


217 


of  discontent:  but  when  the  soul  is  fully  renewed  in 
righteousness,  then  patience  has  "its  perfect  work,'' 
and  the  man  is  "perfect  and  entire,  lacking  nothing," 
then  "he  glories  in  tribulations,  knowing  that  tribula- 
tion worketii  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and  ex- 
perience hope,  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed,  because 
the  love  of  God  is  siied  abroad  in  his  heart  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  him."  In  persecution,  he 
rejoices  and  is  "exceeding  glad,"  believing  that  "great  is 
his  reward  in  heaven,''  and  in  affliction  he  patiently  sub- 
mits, knowing  that  it  "worketh  out  for  him  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  Hence  he  can 
sing, 

Welcome  alike,  the  crown  or  cross, 
Trouble  I  cannot  ask,  nor  peace. 

Nor  toil,  nor  rest,  nor  gain,  nor  loss, 
Nor  joy,  nor  giief,  nor  pain,  nor  ease. 

Nor  life,  nor  death,  but  ever  groan. 

Father,  thy  only  will  be  done. 
And  in  proportion  as  a  Christian's  confidence,  love, 
peace,  and  patience,  are  made  perfect,  so  all  the  other 
graces  of  religion,  are  matured  with  them. 

But  here  perhaps  a  question  may  be  agitated.  "Does 
this  perfection  admit  of  any  increase,  if  it  is  capable  of 
receiving  additions,  how  can  it  be  perfection,  and  if  not 
why  are  we  exhorted  to  grow  in  grace,"  &c.  To  this  I 
would  reply,  things  that  belong  merely  to  this  world, 
have  their  rise,  progress,  perfection,  declension  and  ruin. 
In  vegetation  we  see  first  the  bud,  next  the  blossom,  then 
the  fruit,  which  ripens  by  degrees  till  it  attains  perfec- 
tion, but  here  its  progress  terminates;  it  can  rise  no  high- 
er; the  sun  may  continue  to  shine, — the  breezes  to  blow 
— the  dews  to  descend;  but  their  salutary  influences  are 


218  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

lost,  the  fruit  decays,  falls  to  the  ground,  and  mingles 
with  the  earth,  from  whence  it  had  its  origin.  So  the 
human  body  rises  from  a  shapeless  embryo  to  a  certam 
point  of  perfection,  beyond  which  it  cannot  pass;  but  re- 
ligion, considered  as  a  divine  principle,  emanating  from 
an  infinitely  perfect  being,  has  no  bounds,  limits,  nor  di- 
mensions. It  is  a  sea  without  a  shore,  a  hemisphere 
without  a  cloud,  and  the  mind  of  man  which  is  the  seat 
of  this  religion,  is  endowed  with  powers  and  faculties, 
capable  of  endless  improvement;  so  that  our  souls  may 
not  only  rise  high  in  the  scale  of  excellence  in  this  world, 
but  dart  forward  to  the  perfection  of  their  nature,  and 
shine  witli  new  accessions  of  glory  forever  and  ever. 
Hence  to  use  the  language  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  "a  babe  in 
Christ,  is  called  to  grow,  till  he  becomes  a  perfect  Chris- 
tian— a  perfect  Christian,  till  he  becomes  a  disembodied 
spirit — a  disembodied  spirit,  till  he  reaches  the  perfection 
of  a  saint,  glorified  in  body  and  soul.  And  such  a  saint, 
till  he  has  fathomed  the  infinite  depths  of  divine  perfec- 
tion, that  is  to  all  eternity." 

But  another  will  probably  inquire,  "does  this  Chris- 
tian perfection  imply  the  total  extinction  of  every  evil 
principle,  and  the  complete  destruction  of  sin?"  If  by  sin 
you  mean  what  divines  have  called  peccability,  that  is,  a 
state  liable  to  sin;  or  even  a  violation  of  that  absolutely 
perfect  rule  of  right,  which  was  engraven  upon  the  souls 
of  our  first  parents  in  their  primitive  innocency;  then, 
we  disclaim  all  "sinless  perfection:"  but  if  by  sin  you 
understand  that  principle  of  corruption,  which  the  church 
of  England  calls  "original,  or  birth  sin,  which  is  the  fault, 
or  corruption  of  the  nature  of  every  man  which  is  natural- 
ly engendered  of  the  ofl'spring  of  Adam,  whereby  he  is 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTIO>% 


219 


very  far  gone  from  original  rigiiteousness,"  &,c.  then  we 
believe  that  the  grace  of  God  totally  destroys  its  nature: 
where  there  is  a  perfection  of  faith,  unbelief  can  have  no 
being: — where  there  is  a  perfection  of  divine  love,  the 
love  of  the  world,  or  of  sin,  can  never  dwell: — where 
there  is  a  perfection  of  humility,  pride  must  be  extinct: — 
and  where  there  is  a  perfection  of  patience,  wrath,  and 
impatience  can  never  come.  But  let  us  appeal  to  the 
New  Testament.  St.  Paul  writing  to  the  Romans  as- 
sures them  that  "where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much 
more  abound;"  but  if  grace  does  not  destroy  sin,  sin 
abounds  more  than  grace;  if  the  remedy  abounds  much 
more  than  the  disorder,  will  it  not  restore  the  subject 
to  perfect  health?  Again,  "reckon  ye  yourselves  to  be 
dead  mdeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  And  what  is  this  death  unto  sin  but  ^ 
the  destruction  of  its  nature?  For  "he  that  is  (thus)  dead 
is  freed  from  sin,  for  sin  shall  not  hav  e  dominion  over  you, 
for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace."  Observe 
also  what  St.  John  saith,  "If  we  coniess  our  sins,  he 
(God)  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness;"  and  as  "all  unright- 
eousness is  sin,''  the  being  cleansed  from  this,  must  neces- 
sarily imply  the  being  cleansed  from  all  sin,  ''For  if  we 
walk  in  the  light,  as  God  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellow- 
ship one  with  another;  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his 
Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  For  hosoever  is  born 
of  God,  doth  not  commit  sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in 
him,  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  It 
is  useless  to  enlarge  here,  those  who  are  not  convinced 
of  the  possibility  of  being  saved  from  all  sin,  by  such 
declarations  as  these,  must  necessarily  remain  unconvinc- 


220 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


ed,  by  any  thing  that  God  can  say,  since  no  language 
can  be  more  plain,  nor  truths  more  authentic  than  the 
above  passages.  But  another  will  probably  object  and 
say,  "this  doctrine  tends  to  set  aside  the  atonement  of 
Christ,  and  the  necessity  of  his  continued  influence;  for 
if  a  man  can  live  without  sin,  what  need  of  Christ  as  a 
Saviour?"  But  may  I  not  reply  to  this  by  a  similar  argu- 
ment, if  a  man  can  live  without  disorder,  what  need  of 
food  to  preserve  him  in  health?  If  this  room  can  be 
purged  from  darkness,  what  necessity  for  the  sun  to  shine 
into  it?  The  most  matured  Christians  need  as  much  the 
blood  of  Christ  to  preserve  them  from  sin,  and  thus  keep 
them  pure;  as  imperfect  Christians  do  to  purify  them, 
and  ''it  is  not  enough  that  the  blood  of  the  true  paschal 
Lamb,  has  been  sprinkled  upon  our  souls  to  keep  off  the 
destroyer;"  it  must  still  remain  there,  to  hinder  his  coming 
back,  "with  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  him- 
self." The  holiest  saint  upon  earth,  is  as  much  depend- 
ant upon  Christ,  for  (hat  holiness,  as  the  branch  is  de- 
pendant on  the  tree  for  its  life,  or  the  building  on  the 
foundation  for  its  support.  Hence  the  perfect  Christian 
can  sing, 

"Jesus  my  all  in  all  thou  art, 

My  rest  in  toil,  my  ease  in  pain, 
The  medicine  of  my  broken  heart, 

In  war  ray  peace,  in  loss  my  gain; 
My  smile  beneath  the  tyrant's  frown,  ' 
In  shame  my  glory,  and  my  crown." 
But  you  will  probably  admit  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment, as  to  the  existence  of  the  thing;  but  not  as  to  the 
period  of  its  attainment,  as  you  think  that  such  a  state 
of  perfect  holiness,  can  never  be  enjoyed  till  the  article 
of  death.    But  is  there  such  an  intimate  and  essential 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION, 


221 


connection  between  the  body  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  the 
body  of  sin,  that  the  latter  cannot  die  w  ithout  the  former? 
If  sin  were  a  natural  disorder,  and  had  its  seat  in  the 
body,  there  would  be  some  plausibility  in  the  objection; 
but  as  it  is  a  disease  that  has  its  sole  dominion  in  the 
mind,  no  reason  can  be  assigned  why  the  body  must  be 
destroyed  in  order  to  its  extinction.  Nor  can  we  conceive 
that  death  has  any  tendency  to  alter  our  moral  habits. 

It  may  indeed  end  "the  heart-ache,  and  a  thousand 
natural  shocks  that  flesh  is  heir  to,"  but  to  say  that  it 
will  end  sin  and  give  a  finishing  stroke  to  our  moral 
maladies,  is  not  only  an  outrage  on  common  sense,  but  a 
vile  insult  on  the  Redeemer,  who  claims  the  sole  merit 
of  "washing  us  from  our  sin  in  his  own  blood.''  But  I 
have  detained  you  too  long  I  fear  on  the  first  part  of  my 
subject,  let  us  proceed. 

II.  To  consider  how  we  are  to  "go  on  unto  perfection.'' 
The  language  of  the  text  leads  us  to  suppose  that  some- 
thing had  been  previously  done:  whether  the  phrase  of 
"going  on,''  refers  to  the  advancement  of  a  human  body, 
from  infancy  to  manhood, — or  the  erection  of  a  building, 
from  the  foundation  to  the  topstone, — or  the  progress  of 
a  traveller  from  the  commencement  of  his  journey  to  its 
close,  it  is  not  necessary  to  inquire,  whatever  the  figure 
imports,  the  sense  is  plain,  and  the  interpretation  certain. 
Something  had  been  done,  something  had  been  left  un- 
done. The  Hebrews  had  begun  their  religious  course, 
this  is  sufficiently  clear  from  the  context.  "Therefore 
leaving  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ;"  that  is, 
the  first  principles  of  that  doctrine,  which  Jesus  Christ 
taught  "let  us  goon  unto  perfection,  not  laying  again  the 
foundation  of  repentance,  from  dead  works;  and  of  faith 
20 


222 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


towards  God,  of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms,  and  of  laying 
on  of  hands,  and  of  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of 
eternal  judgment."  Thus  you  see  what  the  Hebrews  had 
done,  they  had  laid  the  foundation,  where  Jesus  Christ 
had  laid  it,  in  "repentance  from  dead  works,  and  faith 
towards  God,''  for  one  of  the  first  messages  which  the 
Lord  Jesus  announced  to  the  world,  was,  "repent  ye  and 
believe  the  gospel."  How  important  it  is  to  make  a  good 
beginning,  to  begin  where  we  ougnt,  as  well  as  when  we 
ought.  To  enter  in  at  the  right  door,  to  be  perfectly 
initiated  into  first  principles,  and  thoroughly  instructed 
in  the  rudiments  of  the  science,  wiiich  we  intend  to  learn. 
O  what  multitudes  have  unfortunately  miscarried  for  want 
of  laying  ihe  foundation  of  their  personal  piety  in  repent- 
ance. They  have  had  a  fair  outside,  a  specious  morality, 
and  a  scrupuluus  atiachment  to  what  some  have  termed 
"the  small  duties  of  religion,"  but  alas,  the  load  of  sin 
they  never  born,  the  pangs  of  guilt  they  never  felt,  the 
clamors  of  conscience  they  never  heard,  and  the  tears  of 
penitence  they  never  shed,  hence  their  religion  was  no 
better  than  a  baseless  fabric,  or  a  house  erected  on  the 
sand,  which  was  swept  away  in  the  day  of  trial.  But 
remember  a  good  begirming  alone  will  not  do,  you  must 
not  only  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate,  but  walk  in  the  narrow 
way, — not  only  start  for  the  prize,  but  press  towards  the 
mark, — the  piety  of  youth  can  never  sanction  the 
apostacy  of  age,  nor  "the  love  of  thine  espousals,''  com- 
pensate for  the  absence  of  zeal  in  declining  life.  The 
Hebrews  had  begun,  but  unfortunately  like  too  many  of 
us,  they  had  not  gone  on,  they  had  laid  the  foundation, 
but  they  had  not  reared  up  the  superstructure,  the  build- 
ing was  left  in  an  unfinished  state.    They  had  com- 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


223 


menced  their  religious  course,  and  had  endured  a  "great 
fight  of  afflictions,  and  even  taken  joyfully  the  spoiling 
of  their  goods,  knowing  that  in  heaven  they  had  a  better, 
and  an  enduring  substance,"  but  they  were  yet  in  datiger 
of  wavering  in  their  faith,  and  even  of  casting  away 
their  confidence.  They  were  grown  old  in  the  profes- 
sion of  religion,  and  might  have  been  teachers  of  Chris- 
tianity, but,  says  tlie  apostle,  "ye  have  need  that  one  teach 
you  again,  which  be  tiie  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God."  They  might  have  been  strong  men  "grown  up 
to  full  age:  so  as  to  have  their  senses  exercised,  to  dis- 
cern both  good  and  evil,  but  they  were  mere  babes,  and 
needed  milk,  and  not  strong  meat.  O  how  many  exact 
counterparts  to  this  description  modern  times  present,  of 
men  in  years,  but  children  in  understanding,  cedars  in 
profession,  but  shrubs  in  reality,  and  had  we  inspired 
epistles  addressed  to  our  present  churches  and  societies, 
I  greatly  fear  that  we  should  read  of  many,  who  had  not 
only  neglected  to  build  themselves  up  on  their  most  holy 
faith,  but  who  had  even  demolished  what  they  once  built> 
and  torn  up  the  foundation  which  they  once  laid:  alas! 
where  we  lately  surveyed  with  pleasure,  many  a  goodly 
fabric  rising  fair,  we  now  see  only  piles  of  ruin,  or  heaps 
of  rubbish.  These  considerations,  however  painful  to 
indulge,  may  yet  serve  to  prepare  our  minds,  for  attend- 
ing to  the  necessary  advice  in  the  text:  "Let  us  go  on 
unto  perfection.''  This  we  should  do  by  the  exercise  of 
faith,  diligence,  and  expectation. 

1st.  Faith,  this  grace  is  of  distinguished  importance 
in  religion,  and  every  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  formed,  and 
perfected  in  proportion  to  the  energy  and  operation  of  a 
man's  faith;  would  you  "go  on  unto  perfection,"  believe 


224 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


heartily  in  the  existence  of  such  a  state — are  you  pre- 
judiced against  the  term — then  substitute  some  other,  1 
contend  not  for  the  name  but  the  thing.  Call  it  what  you 
please,  though  I  dare  not  discard  even  the  "words  of  this 
book,"  lest  God  should  "take  away  my  part  of  the  book 
of  life.''  Believe  heartily  in  the  ability  of  God  to  in- 
troduce you  into  this  state.  What  cannot  God  do  for 
you?  His  grace  can  illuminate  the  most  palpable  dark- 
ness, pardon  the  deepest  guilt,  wash  out  the  foulest 
stains,  and  cleanse  "from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and 
spirit."  In  the  accomplishment  of  man's  purposes  we 
frequently  perceive  impediments,  and  obstacles  thrown  in 
the  way,  which  no  human  ability  can  surmount.  But 
what  can  impede  the  progress  of  theditine  power,  or  ob- 
struct the  energies  of  his  grace.  When  God  speaks,  it 
is  done,  when  he  commands,  it  stands  fast.  And  let  your 
faith  be  exercised  also  in  the  willingness  of  God,  to 
"sanctify  you  wholly,''  and  to  preserve  your  "whole 
spirit,  and  soul  and  body  blameless,  unto  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

2d.  Go  on  unto  perfection  by  a  diligent  attention  to  all 
the  means  of  grace.  Faith  does  not  destroy  diligence, 
but  quickens  and  excites  the  mind  to  it.  Because  the 
husbandman  believes  that  his  lands  will  produce  a  good 
crop,  he  therefore  ploughs  up  the  soil,  breaks  the  clods, 
casts  in  the  precious  seed,  and  exercises  long  patience  in 
waiting  for  the  harvest.  To  suppose  the  end  will  be  se- 
cured without  the  means,  is  presumption,  and  not  faith; 
faith  as  naturally  and  necessarily  produces  diligence,  as 
the  cause  produces  the  effect..  Therefore  "give  diligence 
to  make  your  calling  and  election  sure."  Be  diligent  in 
the  practice  of  self-examination;  "search  and  try  your- 


CHRISTIAN  PKHFECTION. 


225 


selves,''  not  by  the  standard  of  human  opinions,  nor 
worldly  maxims;  but  by  the  test  of  divine  revelation; 
weigh  yourselves  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary;  find 
out  all  that  is  wrong  within  you;  leave  no  latent  evil  un- 
discovered, no  secret  sin  undetected;  "commune  with  your 
own  heart  in  your  chamber  and  be  still."  Say  with 
David,  "search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart,  try  me 
and  know  my  thoughts,  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting."  Be 
diligent  in  the  practice  of  self-denial  and  mortification; 
except  a  man  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily 
he  cannot  be  a  disciple  of  Christ;  we  have  propensities 
that  must  be  checked,  desires  that  must  be  denied,  and 
passions  that  must  be  controlled;  and  though  the  con- 
trolment  of  an  enemy  may  not  ensure  his  destruction,  yet 
it  will  curb  his  will,  circumscribe  his  reign  and  counter- 
act his  influence.  Therefore  strive  to  keep  the  body 
under,  "crucify  the  flesh  with  its  affections  and  lusts.'' 
Nothing  tends  more  to  increase  your  holy  and  heavenly 
tempers,  than  the  mortifying  of  your  carnal  propensities. 
O  say  in  the  language  of  the  poet, 

"Yes  my  Redeemer  they  shall  die, 

My  heart  hath  so  decreed, 
Nor  will  I  spare  those  guilty  things, 

That  made  my  Saviour  bleed. 

Be  diligent  in  the  practice  of  watchfulness;  guard  your 
hearts  against  temptations;  watch  your  thoughts  that  no 
high  minded,  irascible  or  impure  desires  may  lodge  with- 
in you;  watch  your  words,  that  "no  corrupt  communica- 
tion may  proceed  out  of  your  mouth;''  and  watch  over 
your  actions,  that  you  may  incur  no  fresh  guilt,  nor  in- 
20* 


226 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


volve  yourselves  in  any  new  condemnation.  But  above 
all  be  diligent  in  prayer;  every  other  duty  is  inefficacious 
without  this,  and  in  the  proper  and  constant  practice  of 
this,  every  blessing  is  secured,  essential  to  human  hap- 
piness, in  time  and  eternity. 

"Prayer  makes  tlie  darken'd  clouds  withdraw, 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw. 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 
Brings  every  blessing  from  above." 

The  office  of  sanctifying  the  soul,  or  perfecting  it  in 
divine  love,  is  attributed  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  is 
called  a  Holy  Spirit;  not  only  as  he  is  essentially  holy 
in  himself,  but  as  he  produceth  in  us  all  the  works  and 
fruits  of  holiness,  hence  we  "are  washed,  sanctified,  and 
justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the 
Spirit  of  our  God."  And  we  are  saved  "by  the  wash- 
ing of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;''  and  the  prayer  of  faith  secures  the  assistance 
of  this  spirit.  "For  if  ye  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  him."  How  encouraging  and  consolatory  is  this 
truth.  O!  what  a  motive  for  prayer!  Then  beseech  the 
Lord  to  give  you  this  spirit,  to  sanctify  your  souls,  to  cut 
off  the  entail  of  sin,  to  destroy  the  empire  of  the  devil, 
and  to  cleanse  the  thoughts  of  your  hearts,  that  you  may 
perfectly  love  God,  and  worthily  magnify  his  holy  name. 
And  do  it  fervently;  be  deeply  impressed  with  tlie  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  securing  the  object  you  seek; 
do  not  let  devotion  languish  on  your  tongues,  and  your 
prayers  freeze  on  their  passage;  but  rouse  all  your  ener- 
gies, awaken  all  your  desires,  and  direct  all  your  wishes 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


227 


to  the  throne  of  grace,  for  it  is  the  effectual  fervent  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man  that  availeth  much.  Do  it  importu- 
nately, strive,  agonize,  and  wrestle  with  God  in  all  the 
ardor  of  mighty  prayer;  cry  out  with  Jacob,  "I  will  not 
let  thee  go  unless  thou  bless  me."    Or  with  the  poet, 

"In  vain  thou  strugglest  to  get  free, 

I  never  will  unloose  my  hold. 
Art  thou  the  man  that  died  for  me? 

The  secret  of  thy  love  unfold. 
Wrestling  I  will  not  let  thee  go, 
Till  I  thy  name  thy  nature  know." 

And  do  it  constantly;  be  found  in  the  practice  of  pray- 
er, not  only  in  the  chapel  or  in  the  closet,  but  when  you 
go  out  and  come  in,  when  you  lie  down  and  rise  up,  for 
the  ears  of  God  are  always  open  to  your  prayers,  and 
the  compassions  of  God  always  ready  to  answer  your  re- 
quest. 

3d.  "Go  on  unfo  perfection,"  under  the  influence  of 
expectation:  not  only  believe  for  it,  and  pray  for  it,  but 
expect  it,  and  expect  it  this  hour,  this  moment.  O! 
look  up  to  heaven  and  say, 

"Why  not  now  my  God,  my  God, 

Ready  if  thou  always  art, 
Make  in  me  thy  mean  abode. 

Take  possession  of  my  heart; 
If  thou  canst  so  greatly  bow, 
Friend  of  sinners  why  not  now?" 

By  some  unaccountable  propensity  in  human  nature, 
we  are  disposed  to  expect  promised  blessings,  at  a  dis- 
tant period  rather  than  the  present  time.    The  sinner 


228 


CHRISTIAN  PERFKCTION. 


who  knows  that  inevitable  ruin  awaits  his  course  of  con- 
duct, yet  hesitates  to  turn  now.  The  penitent,  who 
feels  the  necessity  of  obtaining  pardon  for  all  his  sins, 
instead  of  realizing  the  present  blessings,  looks  forward 
to  some  future^  and  happier  period  for  its  reception. 
And  the  believer  who  is  conscious  that  God  can  make 
him  holy,  and  who  desires  holiness  above  every  other 
thing;  yet,  almost  despairs  of  gaining  it  now;  but  why 
is  this?  Can  God  be  more  willing  to  bestow  this  blessing 
upon  you  to-morrow,  than  he  is  to  day?  Impossible! 
"The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord.''  "He  is  one  mind;" 
he  changeth  not,  and  his  will  is  as  immutable  as  himself. 
Do  you  defer  the  hope  of  receiving  it  now,  under  the  im- 
pression that  you  must  strive  more,  and  watch  and  pray 
more,  and  then  you  may  venture  to  expect  to  receive  it? 
Remember  it  is  not  by  works  of  righteousness,  lest  any 
man  should  boast;  but  grace,  through  faith  that  we  are 
saved.  Mr.  Fletcher  observes,  "that  believers  go  on 
unto  perfection,  as  the  disciples  went  to  the  other  side 
of  the  sea  of  Gallilee;  they  toiled  some  time  very  hard, 
and  with  little  success,  but  after  they  had  rowed  about 
twenty-five,  or  thirty  furlongs,  they  saw  Jesus  walking 
on  the  sea.  He  said  to  them  it  is  I,  be  not  afraid;  then 
they  willingly  received  him  into  the  ship,  and  immedi- 
ately the  ship  was  at  the  land  whither  they  went;  just 
so  we  toil,  till  our  faith  discovers  Christ  in  the  promise, 
and  welcomes  him  into  our  hearts. ''  O!  that  God  may 
raise  our  languid  expectations,  and  revive  our  drooping 
hopes,  and  give  us  to  feel  that  now  is  the  accepted  time; 
that  now  is  the  day  of  salvation;  that  all  things  are  now 
ready,  and  may  we  come  to  the  marriage;  "to  a  feast  of 
fat  things,  full  of  marrow,  and  of  wines  from  the  lees  well 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION.  229 

refined;  and  all  without  money  and  without  price.''  To 
those  of  you  who  ask  whether  you  are  to  expect  the 
blessing  of  perfection,  gradually  or  instantaneously:  I 
answer,  the  mind  is  prepared  for  its  reception  by  a  grad- 
ual process,  but  there  is  a  precise  moment  when  the 
work  is  completed;  by  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
righteousness;  following  hard  after  God;  and  panting  for 
him,  as  the  heart  panteth  for  the  water  brooks,  "we  go 
on  towards  perfection,"  but  it  remains  for  God  to  intro- 
duce us  into  this  state,  by  filling  us  with  righteousness; 
and  sealing  us  by  his  spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemption- 
So  the  process  of  recovery  goes  gradually  forward  in  a 
disordered  man,  till  a  certain  moment  arrives  when  the 
seeds  of  disease,  are  perfectly  eradicated  from  the  con- 
stitution: and  thus  in  the  progress  of  vegetation  there  is 
first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear, 
'till  it  is  ripe  for  the  harvest.  Should  any  inquire, 
"How  are  we  to  know  when  God  has  done  this  work 
for  us?  I  would  reply  to  this  by  asking,  how  does  a  blind 
man  know  when  he  gets  his  sight? — Or,  a  deaf  man 
when  he  gains  his  hearing?  Or  a  slave  when  he  obtains 
his  liberty?  You  will  say,  by  the  certain  evidence  which 
these  changes  necessarily  bring  to  his  senses.  And 
when  conviction  for  sin  seized  you,  when  "the  sorrows 
of  death  compassed  you  about,  and  the  pains  of  hell  took 
hold  upon  you;"  or  when  God  justified  you  freely,  burst 
your  chains  asunder,  and  brought  your  souls  out  of  pri- 
son, how  did  you  know  it,  but  by  the  indubitable  testimo- 
ny which  these  important  changes  brought  to  the  mind. 
And  if  the  spirit  of  God  sets  his  seal  upon  the  conscience, 
and  bears  witness  with  our  spirits,  when  we  first  become 
his  children,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  this 


230 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


witness  will  be  proportionably  stronger,  and  brighter,  as 
we  grow  up  into  Christ  our  living  head?  "The  path  of 
the  just  is  as  the  shining  light;"  and  will  not  that  light 
shine  with  more  direct  and  refulgent  brilliance,  as  it  ap- 
proaches towards  the  meridian  than  when  it  first  dawned 
upon  the  earth?  I  make  no  question  but  many  deceive 
themselves,  and  imagine  that  they  have  in  possession, 
what  their  tempers,  words,  and  works  declare  they  have 
i  not.  But  this  no  more  proves  that  all  are  deceived  who 
profess  it,  than  a  poor  man's  professing  to  have  great 
wealth,  proves  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  wealth  in 
the  world. 

III.  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  motives,  that 
should  urge  you  to  go  on  unto  perfection. 

1st.  This  course  of  conduct  perfectly  harmonizes 
with  the  divine  will,  and  precisely  in  the  same  propor- 
tion as  you  are  obligated  to  accomplish  the  will  of  God, 
so  far  you  ought  to  be  induced  to  go  on  unto  perfection. 
We  may  infer  this  from  God's  nature.  He  is  an  abso- 
lutely perfect  Being;  his  natural  and  moral  attributes, 
such  as  eternity,  immensity,  infinity, — holiness,  right- 
eousness, and  truth,  are  all  infinitely  perfect.  It  was 
God's  will  to  create  man  in  his  own  image,  after  his  like- 
ness,  and  while  he  stood  in  that  state,  he  perfectly  per- 
formed the  divine  will  concerning  him.  Sin  entered  in- 
to the  world,  and  defaced  that  image;  man  revolted  from 
his  Maker  and  turned  to  his  own  way;  but  by  "repent- 
ance from  dead  works,  and  faith  towards  God,"  he  turns 
about  and  retraces  his  steps,  and  gets  into  God's  way 
again,  and  by  going  on  unto  perfection,  he  approximates 
towards  that  primitive  state  of  perfect  holiness,  which 
man  forfeited  by  his  original  oflience:  and  to  imagine 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


231 


that  Christian  believers  can  fully  accomplish  the  divine 
will  without  this,  is  not  less  preposterous,  than  to  ima- 
gine that  Adam  did  the  will  of  God,  when  he  lost  his 
original  perfection.  But  you  need  not  decide  this  point 
by  mere  inference;  you  have  God's  positive  precepts 
which  direct  you  to  this  object,  and  more  especially  his 
inviolable  promises,  and  declarations,  to  ensure  his  wil- 
lingness, to  confer  this  ine:^;timable  blessing  upon  you. 
"Tiien  (saith  God  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel)  will  I  sprinkle 
clean  wa'er  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean;  from  all 
your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you. 
A  new  heart  also  will  1  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will 
I  put  within  you,"  &c.  "The  Lord  thy  God  (saith 
Moses)  will  circumcise  thy  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy 
seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul."  "Christ  loved  the  church,  (saith  St 
Paul)  and  gave  himself  for  it,  that  he  might  present  it  to 
himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  might  be  holy  and  without 
blemish. — Indeed  while  you  credit  the  Bible,  you  cannot 
but  believe  that  it  is  the  will  of  God,  you  should  go  on 
unto  perfection.  And  shall  not  this  motive  excite  you  to 
do  it?  You  owe  your  all  to  God;  you  live  in  his  world, 
you  breath  his  air,  you  feed  upon  his  bounty,  and  are 
protected  by  his  arm.  It  was  his  Son  that  redeemed 
you  from  hell.  His  spirit  that  awakened  you  from  sin. 
It  is  his  gospel  that  promises  you  forgiveness;  and  his 
glory  you  expect  to  share  to  all  eternity.  O  what  vast 
and  extensive  obligations  are  you  under  to  God;  obliga- 
tions increasing  every  hour;  whose  number  can  never  be 
told,  whose  value  can  never  be  estimated,  and  whose 


232 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


debt  never  discharged,  which  of  you  that  may  not  ex- 
claim. 

"O  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor, 
Daily  I'm  constrained  to  be." 

Are  you  asking  "what  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for 
all  his  benefits  towards  me?"  Lord  what  wouldst  thou 
have  me  to  do?  The  answer  is,  "Go  on  unto  perfection: 
give  to  Cod  tliy  whole  heart,  and  do  his  will  in  earth, 
as  it  is  done  in  heaven." 

2d.  You  should  be  induced  to  comply  with  the  advice 
in  the  text,  "and  go  on  unto  perfection,''  from  the  desira- 
bleness of  the  object;  even  in  the  works  of  art,  the  nearer 
a  thing  approaches  to  perfection,  the  more  it  is  valued, 
and  applauded;  and  if  religion  be  an  inestimable  trea- 
sure, is  it  not  highly  desirable  to  possess  this  treasure  in 
perfection?  Many  of  you  have  read  Bunyan's  inimita- 
ble description  of  this  state,  termed  by  him,  the  land  of 
Beulah,  into  whicli  his  Pilgrims  had  happily  entered, 
and  through  which  their  path  lay.  "Here  the  air  was 
serene  and  pleasant,  and  here  they  heard  continually 
the  singing  of  birds,  saw  every  day  the  flowers  appear 
on  the  earth,  and  heard  the  voice  of  the  turtle  in  the 
land:  in  this  country  the  sun  shone  night  and  day,  where- 
fore it  was  beyond  tlie  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  out 
of  the  reach  of  giant  Despair,  neither  could  they  so  much 
as  see  Doubting  castle.  Here  they  were  within  sight 
of  the  city  that  tliey  were  going  to,  also,  here  met  them 
eomeof  the  inliabiianis  tiiereof,  for  in  this  land  the  Shin- 
ing Ones  commonly  walked,  because  it  was  on  the  bor- 
der of  heaven,  here  t  lie  contract  was  renewed  between 
the  bride,  and  the  bridegroom,  and  here  they  met  with 


CHRISTIAN  PEEFECTION. 


abundance  of  what  they  had  sought  for  in  all  their  pil- 
grimage; here  they  heard  voices  from  out  of  the  city, 
loud  voices,  saying,  "say  ye  to  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
behold  thy  salvation  cometh!  Behold  his  reward  is  with 
him;  here  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  called  them 
the  holy  people,  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord."  O!  what 
a  desirable  country  is  this  to  dwell  in! 

"A  land  of  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil, 
Favor'd  with  God's  peculiar  smile. 
With  every  blessing  blest." 

Which  of  my  hearers  does  not  languish  and  sigh  to  be 
there?  Have  you  never  stood  like  Moses,  on  the  top  of 
Pisgah,  and  beheld  by  faith  the  promised  land?  A  land 
where  you  shall  eat  bread  without  scarceness,  and  not 
lack  any  thing;  a  land  which  the  Lord  your  God  careth 
for;  where 

"Rivers  of  milk  and  honey  rise, 
And  all  the  fruits  of  paradise, 
In  endless  plenty  grow." 

Will  you  not  then  go  on  to  possess  it.?  Will  you  listen 
to  the  suggestions  of  those  who  tell  you  there  is  no  such 
country,  or  of  those  who  act  the  part  of  the  dispirited 
spies,  and  bring  an  evil  report  concerning  the  good  land, 
by  representing  the  insuperable  difliculties  that  lie  in 
the  way?  No!  you  should  rather  confidently  say,  "let 
us  go  up  at  once  and  possess  it."  The  eternal  God  is 
thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms; 
and  he  shall  thrust  out  the  enemy  from  before  thee,  and 
shall  say,  destroy  them.  Israel  then  shall  dwell  in  safety 
21 


234  CHRISTIAN  rERFECTION. 

alone,  the  fountain  of  Jacob  shall  be  upon  a  land  of 
corn  and  wine,  also  his  heavens  shall  drop  down  dew. 

3d.  You  should  be  induced  to  go  on  unto  perfection 
from  a  consciousness  that  this  is  the  only  certain  preven- 
tive of  final  apostacy.  Apostacy  from  God  is  a  crime 
that  has  no  parallel;  its  malignity  rises  in  proportion  to 
the  light  we  extinguish — the  mercies  we  abuse — the 
obligations  we  violate — and  the  heaven  we  (brfeit.  The 
inspired  writers  paint  it  in  the  darkest  colors,  and 
brand  it  with  the  most  odious  epithets;  it  is  "forsak- 
ing the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and  hewing  out  cisterns, 
broken  cisterns,  that  hold  no  water.''  "Doing  despite  to 
the  spirit  of  grace.'' — "Counting  the  blood  of  the  co 
venant  an  unholy  tiling." — "Turning  from  the  holy  com- 
mandment delivered  unto  us." — "Making  the  light  that 
is  in  us  become  darkness,  and  drawing  back  to  perdi- 
tion.'' And  do  you  ask  who  are  guilty  of  this  crime? 
Why  those  described  by  tiie  apostle  in  the  verses  suc- 
ceeding the  text,  "who  were  once  enlightened,  and  had 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,''  but  who  by  neglecting  to  goon  unto 
pcrfeciion,  had  fallen  away,  and  crucified  to  themselves, 
the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him  to  an  open  shame; 
and  who  instead  of  being  like  a  fruitful  field  which  the 
Lord  had  blessed,  were  like  the  earth  that  beareth  briars 
and  thorns,  who  were  nigh  unto  cursing,  whose  end  was 
to  be  burned.  And  do  you  hope  to  escape  this  abomina- 
ble crime  of  apostacy,  and  to  obtain  eternal  salvation 
without  going  forward  to  maturity  in  Christian  holiness? 
Alas!  can  the  traveller  reach  the  end  of  his  journey,  with- 
out advancing  in  the  way?  Can  the  mariner  make  a 
prosperous  voyage,  without  steering  his  vessel  to  the 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


235 


destined  port?  Can  the  warrior  escape  defeat  and  se- 
cure victory  who  ceases  to  oppose  the  foe?  Christiani- 
ty is  described  in  the  New  Testament  as  a  contest,  and 
Christians  as  soldiers;  they  are  enhsted  under  the  cap- 
tain of  their  salvation,  invested  with  the  armor  of  right- 
eousness, and  clad  in  the  panoply  of  God.  While  they 
<ro  on  unto  perfection,  the  world  is  conquered,  the  devil 
bruised  under  their  feet,  the  enemies  of  their  salvation 
put  to  flight;  victory,  eternal  victory  awaits  them,  and 
applauding  angels  are  ready  to  bind  the  laurels  round 
their  brow.  But  when  they  neglect  to  comply  with  the 
advice  in  the  text,  the  case  is  reversed;  then  their  foes 
triumph,  the  world  resumes  its  seat  in  their  heart,  the 
strong  holds  of  sin,  which  were  almost  demolished,  are 
reared  up  again,  the  enemy  intrenches  himself  within 
their  walls,  resumes  his  armor,  recovers  his  spoils,  re- 
establishes his  dominion,  and  the  last  state  of  that  man 
is  worse  than  the  first.  O!  how  intolerable  is  the  hell 
of  apostates!  for  if  "he  that  despised  Moses's  law,  died 
without  merry,  under  two  or  three  witnesses,  of  how 
much  sorer  punishment,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy, 
who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God."  And  can 
vou  wilfully  and  deliberately  incur  this  punishment? 
Can  you  bear  "to  dwell  with  devouring  fire,  and  to  lie 
down  in  everlasting  burnings?"  Are  you  determined  on 
your  own  ruin?  No!  if  you  hope  to  escape  the  hideous 
wreck  of  souls,  then  "give  your  mind  sea-room,  keep  it 
wide  of  earth,  call  every  wind,  eye  the  great  pole  star, 
and  make  the  land  of  life." 

4th.  "Let  us  go  on  unto  perfection,"  as  this  alone 
will  secure  permanent  and  satisfactory  enjoyments. 
Man  was  formed  for  enjoyment,  and  naturally  and  neces- 


236 


CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 


sarily  loves  it;  in  all  the  climes  of  the  earth,  and  among 
all  the  gradations  of  society,  from  the  monarch  to  the 
beggar,  enjoyment  is  universally  esteemed,  and  invaria- 
bly sought:  but  alas!  how  rarely  found.  Can  the  votaries 
of  wealth  find  it  in  hoarded  heaps  of  glittering  treasures, 
perhaps  unjustly  wrested  from  the  hand  of  industry,  the 
rust  of  which  shall  eat  their  flesh  like  fire?  Can  the  com- 
petitors for  fame  find  it  in  vain  and  transitory  titles  which 
time  effaces,  and  death  destroys?  Can  the  dupes  of 
pleasure  find  it  in  "the  midnight  dances,  or  the  public 
show?''  Enjoyment,  springing  from  worldly  sources,  is 
in  the  language  of  scripture,  a  feeding  "on  ashes;''  which 
not  only  shows  a  depraved  appetite,  but  marks  the 
wretched  shifts,  to  which  those  are  reduced  who  spend 
their  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread.  But  in  the 
possession  of  the  perfect  love  of  God  the  enjoyment  is 
rational,  such  as  the  understanding  approves,  and  such 
as  eternal  reason  will  justify.  It  is  pure,  not  arising 
from  a  heart  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and  drunken- 
ness, and  evinced  by  foolish  talking  and  jesting,  but 
sprmging  from  a  pure  heart,  a  good  conscience,  and 
faith  unfeigned.  It  is  inexpressible,  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him.  What  language  can  describe  the  enjoyment 
that  flows  from  a  heart  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God; 
a  temple  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in — where  sin  has 
no  part — the  devil  no  dominion — the  strong  man  cast 
out — his  goods  spoiled,  and  his  empire  overthrown. 
How  pleasingly  is  this  expressed  by  the  poet,  which 
those  who  are  only  seeking  this  state  may  venture  to 
sing: 


CHRISTIAN  PEHFECTION 


237 


"O  glorious  hope  of  perfect  love. 
It  lifts  me  up  to  things  above, 

It  bears  on  eagle's  wings; 
It  gives  my  ravished  soul  a  taste, 
And  makes  me  for  some  moments  feast, 

With  Jesus'  priests  and  kings." 

5th.  Let  us  cro  on  unto  perfection,  as  this  is  the  only 
way  to  secure  a  qualification  for  eternal  glory.  Does 
the  Bible  describe  heaven  as  a  place?  Then  it  is  called  a 
holy  place,  a  holy  hill,  and  a  holy  city,  into  which  no- 
thing can  enter  that  defileth.  Does  it  describe  its  inhab- 
itants? They  are  the  holy  angels,  holy  prophets,  holy 
apostles,  and  the  spirits  ofjust  men  made  perfect.  Does 
it  describe  their  employment?  They  rest  not,  day  nor 
night,  saying,  holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty, 
which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.  Does  it  describe 
the  qualification  or  meetness  for  this  employment?  It  is 
holiness,  without  which  no  man  can  see  the  Lord.  And 
as  the  perfection  we  preach,  is  a  perfection  of  holiness; 
how  important  is  the  advice  in  the  text,  and  how  much 
does  it  behove  us  to  put  it  into  practice  and  do  it  promptly. 
Life  "is  even  as  a  vapor,"  our  days  are  swifter  than  a 
post;  we  are  going  with  impetuous  steps  to  eternity,  and 
shall  we  not  with  equal  pace  go  on  unto  perfection?  Shall 
time  hasten  forward  while  the  sole  end  for  which  it  is 
given  is  totally  forgotten,  or  lightly  esteemed?  While  the 
outward  man  dies  daily,  shall  not  the  inward  man  be  re- 
newed day  by  daj?  May  I  not  indulge  a  hope  that  some 
of  you  are  going  on;  you  are  "leaving  the  things  which 
are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  which  are 
before."  O  be  encouraged!  the  good  of  the  land  is  before 
you,  and  much  of  it  yet  remains  to  be  possessed.  Stagger 


'^'''5  CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

not  at  the  promises  through  unbelief,  the  darkness  shall 
be  light  before  you,  the  rough  places  smooth,  and  the 
mountain  become  a  plain.  According  to  your  faith,  so 
shall  it  be  done  unto  you.  Have  any  of  my  hearers  en- 
tered into  this  Vest?  Then  suffer  the  word  of  exhortation, 
"Whereto  you  have  already  attained,  walk  by  the  same 
rule,  mind  the  same  thmg;"  your  warfare  is  not  yet  ac- 
complished: you  are  still  in  an  enemy's  country,  where 
"your  adversary,  the  devil  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  By  his  influence 
Adam  lost  even  his  original  perfection;  yours  may  also 
be  forfeited.  You  have  bodies  that  love  ease  and  court 
indulgence:  you  have  senses  that  may  become  avenues 
to  temptation;  and  you  are  the  subjects  of  much  ignorance 
through  which  the  enemy  may  take  advantage  of  you. 
"Therefore,  keep  your  hearts  with  all  diligence,"  you 
know  how  you  were  brought  into  liberty,  walk  still  by  the 
same  rule,  mind  the  same  thing;  to  suppose  that  you 
may  now  be  less  frequent  in  prayer,  less  watchful  over 
yourselves  or  less  zealous  in  the  cause  of  God;  is  an 
error  against  which  you  should  guard  with  all  possible 
circumspection.  Remember  your  security  and  comfort 
still  depend  on  your  going  forward;  you  may  be  now 
perfect  in  love,  but  your  race  of  Christian  duties,  is  not 
yet  perfected;  you  have  more  to  do,  more  to  suffer,  and 
more  to  enjoy.  O!  that  you  may  be  emulous  to  stand 
perfect,  and  complete  in  all  the  will  of  God;  and  finally, 
may  you  be  presented  faultless  before  the  presence  of 
his  glory  with  exceeding  joy,  and  join  the  blood-bought, 
blood-washed  bands,  who  triumphantly  ascribe  to  the 
only  wise  God  our  Saviour,  glory  and  majesty,  dominion 
and  power,  forever  and  ever. — Amen. 


ARMSTRONG    &  BERRY, 
BOOKSELLERS,  STATIONERS,  AND  PUBLISHERS, 
xVo.  134,  Market  street,  Baltimore, 
Have  on  sale,  at  low  prices,  a  general  assortment  of 
Cftfoloafcnl,  CCInssfral,  Srftool,  anft  fttisccUnncous  33oobs, 
With  all  the  Books  of  tlie 

METHODIST    BOOK    ESTABLISHMENT,    NEW  YORK. 

Also — A  variety  of  Books,  &c.  suitable  for  Sabbath  Schools. 


Having  published  the  following  Works,  are  prepared  to  supply 
them  on  accommodating  terms,  in  quantities,  or  otherwise. 

Josephus,  1  vol.  octavo,  complete,  sheep,  gilt 

•'        "  "     new  and  beautiful  edition,  with  plates 

Polyglott  Pocket  Bible,  sheep 
"  calf 
"     calf,  gilt 
"  "        "     morocco,  gilt,  tuck 

"  "        "     morocco  or  calf,  super  extra 

'•  Psalms 
"  "        "  Concordance 

Polyglott  Pocket  Testament,  sheep 

"  "  "  "  morocco,  gilt,  tuck 

"  '«  '■  morocco  or  calf,  super  extra 

This  edition  of  the  Bible  is  the  most  complete  ever  published  in  this  coun- 
try; containing,  in  addition  to  the  text,  marginal  references,  headings  to  each 
chapter,  a  harmony  of  the  Gospels,  and  definitions  of  Scripture  proper  names, 
with  other  biblical  matter,  on  a  small  page  of  good  type. 

Saurin's  Sermons,  2  vols,  sheep,  with  portrait,  from  a  steel  plate 
Sermons  and  plans  of  Sermons,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Benson,  7  vols. 
12  mo.  sheep 

New  Pious  Songs,  or  Social,  Prayer,  Closet,  and  Camp  Meeting 
Hymns  and  Choruses,  2d  edition,  enlarged  and  improved 


2 


Key  to  Knowledge 

Henshaw's  Selections  of  Hymns,  for  social  meetings,  concerts  of 
prayer,  &c. 

Henshaw's  Communicant's  Guide,  or  Introduction  to  the  Lord's 

Supper,  a  new  edition 
Henshaw  on  Confirmation 
Philadelphia  Expositor 

Wherein  the  words  are  arranged  on  an  improved  plan,  according  to  their 
respective  principles  of  accentuation,  in  a  manner  calculated  to  tamiliarize 
the  Spelling,  Accentuation,  and  Uetiiiition  of  Words;  and  to  facilitate  general 
improvement;  intended  lor  the  use  of  schools  and  fanulies,  by  B.  Bridoe. 
Redemption,  or  the  New  Song  in  Heaven,  the  test  of  truth  and 

duty  on  earth,  by  Robert  Philip,  of  Maberly  Chapel 
Murray's  Reader,  half  bound 
Murray's  Grammar,  half  bound 

Catechism  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  with  an  expla- 
nation, to  which  is  added  a  Catechism  on  Confirmation,  a 
Catechism  on  Church  Government,  and  a  Liturgy  for  Sunday 

Schools 

McCuUoh's  Impartial  Exposition  of  the  Evidences  and  Doctrines 
of  the  Christian  Religion,  addressed  to  the  better  educated 
classes  of  society,  1  vol.  octavo 

Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress,  12  mo. 

Slicer  on  Baptism 

Watmough  and  Dr.  A  Clarke  on  Entire  Sanctification 
United  States  Primer,  JNo.  1 
No.  2 

New  Primer 
Mulkey's  Primer 

Mulkey's  Syllabical  Spelling  Book 

Life  of  Henry  Longden 

Student's  Walk,  or  a  Sabbath  in  the  Country 

Alliene  on  the  Promises,  or  Saint's  Pocket  Book,  bound,  cloth 

Memoirs  of  Eliza  Seckerson,  by  her  father 

"      of  Jane  Seckerson 

"      of  Mary  Seckerson 
Theophilus  and  Sophia,  by  Mrs.  Sherwood 
Arithmetical  Table  Book 


i 


Date  Due 


